"Highbrow betting: gambling on cultural events is on the up"

From the Guardian:

Will you be taking a flutter on the Man Booker? Or the Mercury music prize? Bookmakers are reporting a rise in 'highbrow' betting, especially online

Worth a punt? You can get odds of 9-2 on David Bowie winning this

year's Mercury music prize. Photograph: Larry Busacca/WireImage

This week, Ladbrokes bookmakers announced an increase in what has been called "highbrow" or "cultural" betting. The firm's Alex Donohue says: "This kind of betting has been around for a while, but it's burgeoning, and stakes are rising." He gave me some examples: betting on the Man Booker prize with Ladbrokes is up from £4,000 in 2005 to £15,000 so far this year. Betting on the Nobel prize for literature is up from just over £1,000 in 2005 to approaching £20,000. I asked about the Nobel peace prize, because, having long considered Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning a shoo-in, I now think Putin's in with a shout, after his impressive showing over Syria, but Donohue says: "We don't do the Peace prize. I think we probably should." I told him I heartily agreed. After all, if the 2.15 at Haydock Park justifies running a book, then so does the quest for world peace....MORE

HT: Marginal Revolution who also has a link on Ladbrokes and the Literature Nobel
Earlier:
"How Bookies Pick the Literature Nobel, Without Actually Reading"