Throughout the United States, sports gambling is increasing in popularity across the state with several sportsbooks expanding their offering as they try to give their clients as many diverse gambling options as possible. But one sportsbook seems to have taken that to the extreme.
This week, it was revealed that online sportsbook Betonline.ag will offer betting lines for the upcoming Special Olympics – and the book swears it isn’t a gimmick.
“There’s nothing gimmicky about these odds,” BetOnline Brand Manager, Edward Knight, told Yahoo! Sports. “Just like any other sport, we’ve created Special Olympics odds behind weeks and weeks of research. These are incredibly-skilled athletes competing on an even playing field, and our oddsmakers will give these World Games the same level of attention and respect as the Super Bowl.”
It’s certainly unconventional, but Knight defended the decision, claiming that offering gambling odds for the event will have an “overall positive impact on the visibility” of the Special Olympics.
“We anticipate some negative reaction for our Special Olympics odds, but we’ve been doing this for nearly three decades and have proven that our offerings have an overall positive impact on the visibility of a sport,” Knight said.
“We’re a gaming company that provides entertainment products, so every goal behind our marketing strategies is to generate publicity not only for us but also for the competition. These athletes have worked their butts off to get to Berlin, and they deserve every additional layer of exposure they can get.”
It will certainly be interesting to see how this goes over.
