Comments on: Where can I gamble on Macworld announcements?

Question: Where can I gamble on Macworld announcements?

hihowareyou — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:13:10 -0800

Where (online) can I gamble on what will be announced at MacWorld tomorrow?

I believe bodog previously had odds on the iphone release, but according to this page there currently aren't any Business/Financial betting lines available. Anyone know another site that is currently taking bets?

By: moochoo

moochoo — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:17:54 -0800

would this even be allowed? as obviously there are a lot of people out there that actually know what will be released.

dont think a bookie would risk it. but if they do ill be laying some money down for sure

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:28:45 -0800

you could buy calls or puts on AAPL.

By: Lame_username

Lame_username — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:37:41 -0800

As a student of the on-line wagering world who looks for arbitrage opportunities on all kinds of specialty bets, I think the answer is nowhere. Books would avoid this kind of action because there isn't enough interest in the wagering world and the number of people with inside information is far too large.

By: hihowareyou

hihowareyou — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:42:17 -0800

moochoo & Lame_username - That's what I kind of figured, was just hoping there might be something out there. For the record, I have no inside information, just wanted to place a few small bets for fun.

By: mariokrat

mariokrat — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:59:32 -0800

I've been looking into buying Apple stock ahead of major announcements... What's the easiest way to buy a grand or so of stock online? .. Any good tutorials on how to get started with something like this that anyone can recommend?

By: hihowareyou

hihowareyou — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:28:06 -0800

etrade is pretty simple to set up, although - at least to my recollection in recent years - Apple stock typically tanks a bit after MacWorld, so I wouldn't recommend buying a bunch of AAPL today. YMMV, IANA Financial Advisor, etc.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:34:49 -0800

Ameritrade and ETrade are both good retail brokers. If you don't know what you are doing, getting into stock speculating by purchasing AAPL right before a major news announcement is a great way to zero your account quickly.

By: Mutant

Mutant — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:35:32 -0800

BetFair.com used to take bets on pretty much any financial wagering you wanted to undertake.

Because they were simply matching sides of a bet, bookies weren't involved. I can't find a link to the on-line wagering, but I've included the forum.

Lots of folks in The City used to take a flyer on interest rates, cross rates, $ LIBOR and all sorts of esoteric indicies that bookies wouldn't touch; it was made possible simply because it was bettor to bettor. No bookies were involved.

In terms of purchasing shares now, remember the old adage "If it's in the press it's in the price". That includes listed options as well.

By: mkultra

mkultra — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:41:26 -0800

the number of people with inside information is far too large

This is, I think, the main reason you don't see it. Fair wagering assumes that both sides have equal access to information. Without a mechanism for weeding out insiders (which is a practical impossibility), there are too many people who could game the system.

By: richmondparker

richmondparker — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 12:20:56 -0800

Not good for tomorrow, but www.longbets.org is worth a try in the future. They allow you to bet on things a minimum of two years away. Not your question, but I figured it might be of interest anyway if you're into betting on stuff...

By: fumbducker

fumbducker — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 12:47:22 -0800

why not take bets on it? set your own odds..