Tiger Woods Scandal: Bookies Capitalize on This Year’s Masters
Online bookmakers plan to offer a wide variety of Tiger Woods Masters betting opportunities, some of which have little to do with golf....thanks to that little scandal.
Sure there are your future betting odds on who will win the 2010 Masters Golf Tournament. Tiger Woods was a 3/1 or +300 favorite at BetUS.com.
"We'll probably see a few novelty bets as next week's Master's Tournament gets under way," suggests Gambling911.com Senior Editor, Payton O'Brien. "Offerings like whether one of Tiger's alleged mistresses is spotted at the tournament, whether his wife Elin Nordegren shows up and if she stands by her man should he win."
On November 25, 2009, supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer published a story claiming that Woods had an extramarital affair with nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel, a claim she denied. The story began to attract media attention when Woods had a car accident a day and a half later. Since that time over a dozen women have come forward claiming to have had sex with Woods, including one who said the two did it in a church parking lot. Woods has since held a press conference admitting his infidelity and sex addiction.
Woods also said he would have to step away from golf for an indefinite period of time, however, that didn't last long as he quickly announced participation in the upcoming Masters.
Typically major golf events attract average amounts of betting activity, with nearly half the wagers going to Tiger. Not withstanding the fact that the British Open is one of the UK's most wagered on events of the year, with or without Tiger Woods.
"The Tiger Woods scandal and his subsequent comeback will attract more bets than ever, at least that is what the online bookmakers are counting on," says O'Brien.
BetUS.com was offering odds on everything from whether Woods will miss the cut (pays $500 for every $100 bet) to the total number of birdies to What will Tiger shoot on the 1st Hole of Rd 1. They even have odds on the over/under for Tiger Woods driving accuracy.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher