Reality TV Betting
More than 50 million votes are expected Tuesday night for American Idol contestants. The results will reveal the big American Idol winner on Wednesday.
While these votes are taking place, other votes are being made in order to do make some online profit. Every week, different gambling sites post odds on the competitors on shows such as American Idol, The Amazing Race and Survivor.
Although the average bet size is half the average bet size on sports such as boxing or football, this relatively new phenomenon of television shows betting, is growing fast. According to Matthew Ross, spokesman for betus.com, betting on reality TV has increased by 40 percent since January and the first reality show that started this phenomenon is "Survivor". Although "Survivor" has started the betting traffic, the leading reality in online betting is American Idol.
Sportsbook.com had to suspend reality TV betting in two occasions that placed them at the risk of falling. The first time was when a great amount of $500 bets was placed in March 2005 on reality show "The Race" couple and the second time was at the last winter when suspicious betting occurred on The Amazing Race family edition. In both cases, the betting sites honored the wagers and shut down betting.
The risk is greater when the shows are taped in advance and leaks give away the final results. Although Contestants and crew are signed on multimillion-dollar contracts to prevent leaks, sometimes it happens anyway.
