Hurricane Season Underway? You Bet...

I've previously mentioned that I love the idea of betting on things as diverse as movie revenues and the antics of comically popular celebrities. Here's one that bumps up against the line between good fun and bad taste. Gambling911.com is now offering the opportunity to wager on the number of hurricanes that will make landfall this season and the strength with which they make their entrance.

The site's president offers a fairly unconvincing explanation as to how they are not actually profiting from human misery.

"You can't say betting on how many storms are going to form in 2006 is morbid," Costigan said. "We're not talking about betting on damage or fatalities. Hurricanes fascinate us, and that's what this is about."

Of course, when it's implicit that almost any major storm landfall results in massive property damage and very likely some loss of life, this kind of hair-splitting statement comes across a little self-serving. Hurricanes fascinate us because they cause such epic destruction and to ignore the reality that they are being used as a form of entertainment is dishonest. I'm of the Jon Stewart school of finding humour in tragedy, so I don't mind the betting as much as the half-truths behind the motivation of offering the bet.

Bet on hurricanes? You bet you can. [Gainsville.com]

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