People can come up with the most shocking ideas sometimes, that can not only entertain, but amaze us as well. Celebrity death pool betting is one of them and, over the past years, it has spread like wildfire.
But its popularity makes it difficult to know where should one draw the line.
In brief, celebrity death pool betting is exactly what you imagine it to be: wagering money on which celebrity will be next to bite the dust. It’s fair to say that, on a first impulse, people are either disgusted by the idea, or they find it somewhat funny. It depends on which perspective you choose to adopt.
Here, things are similar to any other type of gambling: you still have to investigate and gather some information, pick a person to bet on and calculate your odds based on various probabilities. Aside from its bizarre theme, celebrity death pool betting requires peculiar research studies.
It’s not only that you have to be constantly updated with all that’s going on in the celebs’ world, but tabloids and gossip readings must be top-priority. Most importantly, you ought to pay attention to:
- any possible grudge one famous person might feel against someone else (be aware of potential conflicts, previous scandals, defamation stories);
- rumours and speculations regarding a superstar’s health problem.
Of course, loving anything that has to do with show business will come in handy if celebrity death pool betting is your thing.
The pros and cons: amusing or macabre?
In spite of the controversy surrounding this subject, don’t jump to conclusions just yet. You should test the waters first to see if this type of gambling suits you or not. Same as with everything, there are pros and cons to keep in view.
Pros: why should you give it a try?
Various websites have started promoting celebrity death pool betting as being a mere source of entertainment and amusement. And they advise people to try out their luck because:
- it’s a harmless activity, that works solely as a guessing game;
- you can earn funds, without necessarily making an effort by analysing odds as much as you would have to do when betting on sports, for instance.
Cons: why should you forget about the whole thing?
It’s difficult to say how much is too much, but when an activity that’s supposed to be entertaining relies on morbid jokes and macabre bets, it all goes downhill, doesn’t it? You should call it quits because:
- this sort of stunts can have a negative effect on the celebrity’s state of mind, from a psychological point of view (they can easily feel threatened, all the more so if the money wagered on their potential death is enticing enough);
- waiting for almost one year to see if somebody has died sounds like a horrid way to spend your time (celebrity death pool betting is 100% time-wasting).
It is true that weird and odd ideas do sell like hot cakes, but everything has to have a limit. Waiting for people to die shouldn’t be regarded as a funny activity, despite the value of your winnings.
A snippet of history
Death pools have been around for years. Back in the 80s, the personnel of a Scottish company based in the US has been placing bets on the death of the one called Ayatollah Khomeni. Usually to enter such a “ghoul pool” costs at least $15 per person (depending on the website), and the earnings go up to around $2,000 for the first place (between $200-500 for the second and the third).
What do you reckon? Is celebrity death pool betting your cup of tea? Let us know. We are keen to hear your opinion.
