BetOnline to Take Bets on the Special Olympics
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Moving forward, sports fans will be able to place a bet on the event which is due to take place in Berlin, Germany, commencing with opening ceremonies on Saturday.
Special Olympics Get Betting Markets Up and Running
The Paralympics have already been covered by betting markets before, but this is the first time that any website has gone so far as to extend its betting markets to the Special Olympics. The move is bound to be received with mixed feelings.
BetOnline.ag has confirmed that two Special Olympics athletes sponsors have agreed to let the betting site use the competitors’ images to set up betting promotions. Despite the ground-breaking move in terms of featuring a brand-new event as part of the company’s betting markets, there are at least two ways to look at this decision.
On the one hand, critics have fulminated that this has been a questionable choice by the bookmaker, but others have reposted that by launching sports betting markets on the Special Olympics, the event was treated more like an elite athletic competition on par with all other top events from the world of sport.
BetOnline brand manager Edward Knight spoke confidently about the upcoming event and the decision to feature Special Olympics odds. Knight acknowledged that the company did not step blindly into the decision and expected some negative reaction from commentators from the start.
Questionable Taste or For the Good of the Sport
However, BetOnline was confident that it would help further raise awareness for the Special Olympics and improve its visibility. “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 for the competition,” Knight explained.
BetOnline has also confirmed that it will be donating $10,000 to a non-profit organization supporting people with intellectual disabilities after the event’s conclusion. This is also the first time the Special Olympics will have been held since 2018 when the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to hold the event sooner.
In the meantime, Knight dismissed any criticism that the odds offered by BetOnline may not be based on factual data. He confirmed that, just like with any other professional event, BetOnline did weeks upon weeks of research to arrive at credible and reliant odds overall. The markets covered feature only the top-tier divisions, BetOnline elaborated.
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