Bookie Offers Odds on Street Fighter IV "Heavyweight Championship"

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
Bookie Offers Odds on Street Fighter IV "Heavyweight Championship"


U.K. bookmaker Paddy Power is breaking new ground in the gambling world by taking bets on the outcome of individual videogames, beginning with a "heavyweight championship" between two of the country's top Super Street Fighter IV [http://www.streetfighter.com/] players.

Ryan Hart and Femi Adeboye are two of the most respected Street Fighters in the U.K. and on April 29th, they're going head-to-head to determine the better man, once and for all. And for the first time ever, fans across the country will be able to take their enjoyment of videogames to a whole new level by laying money on the outcome.

That's right, videogames have finally hit the big-time thanks to Paddy Power [http://www.paddypower.com/bet?action=go_type&category=SPECIALS&disp_cat_id=&ev_class_id=91&ev_type_id=13271], the U.K.'s leading retail and online bookmaker, which is taking bets on the outcome of the fight. Hart is favored to win the fight at 1/3, while Adeboye has been given 2/1 odds; fans can also bet on the match results, with Hart again heavily favored to win at 5/6 odds, and the time of the fastest knockout round.

"Videogames are as much a legitimate sport as any other," a Paddy Power rep said. "We wanted to offer sports fans and games players the ultimate thrill by offering the chance to win big on the outcome of a Super Street Fighter IV competition. If it proves popular, we'll open further books on other videogame competitions."

Capcom [http://www.capcom.com/], which is hosting the digital dust-up at its European headquarters, supports the addition of the event to the Paddy Power lineup as another step toward mainstream acceptance of videogames. "Recognising the game as a legitimate spectator event, as fiercely contested as any sanctioned boxing match, is a huge step for videogames as a whole," Capcom's Leo Tan said. "Hopefully this is the start of a new avenue for bookmakers, a new way for games players to enjoy their games and, potentially, a new way for the elite players to get the recognition they deserve."

Hart, known as "Prodigal Son" in Street Fighter circles, has entered over 700 Street Fighter since 1994 and won more than 450. He took the 2009 Capcom U.K. and Capcom Euro Championship titles and also recently set a Guinness World Record by beating 169 consecutive Super Street Fighter IV challengers over four hours. Little is known about Adeboye but we're assuming that he's currently employed as a goon for a London loan shark.


Permalink
 

maddog015

New member
Sep 12, 2008
338
0
0
People will just bet on anything, I suppose.

Just go to Vegas to see that.

But anyway, I'm putting a five spot that Hart's going to win.
 

Simalacrum

Resident Juggler
Apr 17, 2008
5,204
0
0
riiight... video gaming... legitimate sports... yeah...

With all respect to the media, I disagree. Would you call book reading or watching a film sports? How about laying around on your coach or beard growing?

Oh, wait... [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/loadingreadyrun/1460-Olympic-Beard-Growing]

Nevermind, I fully endorse the legitimacy of video gaming as a sports!

edit: also, I guess something doesn't have to be a sports to be gambled on... sooo yeah...
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
5,630
0
0
Well, not a large bookmaker I can tell you...but, nice to see even if someone as small as them is trying to innovate.

Now, if some of the larger firms could take it on board like Ladbrokes of William Hill, then, you may have something!
 

GonzoGamer

New member
Apr 9, 2008
7,063
0
0
Simalacrum said:
riiight... video gaming... legitimate sports... yeah...

With all respect to the media, I disagree. Would you call book reading or watching a film sports? How about laying around on your coach or beard growing?

Oh, wait... [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/loadingreadyrun/1460-Olympic-Beard-Growing]

Nevermind, I fully endorse the legitimacy of video gaming as a sports!

edit: also, I guess something doesn't have to be a sports to be gambled on... sooo yeah...
Especially in the UK.
Bookmaking is an actual legitimate profession there. It's practically a sport itself.

I don't see why they wouldn't want to bet on the SF4 champion.
 

Jeronus

New member
Nov 14, 2008
1,305
0
0
I bet any kind of money he puts on a show in the first round before losing, winning the second one, and finally taking a dive in the third. OR ELSE!

Not that I would know about that kind of stuff.
 

Dr. Awesome Face

New member
Jan 11, 2010
437
0
0
Simalacrum said:
riiight... video gaming... legitimate sports... yeah...

With all respect to the media, I disagree. Would you call book reading or watching a film sports? How about laying around on your coach or beard growing?

Oh, wait... [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/loadingreadyrun/1460-Olympic-Beard-Growing]
There is another lrr video about olympic "lying on your couch"

Slacking for Gold [http://loadingreadyrun.com/videos/view/206/Slacking-for-Gold]

OT:
maddog015 said:
People will just bet on anything, I suppose.

Just go to Vegas to see that.

But anyway, I'm putting a five spot that Hart's going to win.
I agree. Some people just need to bet and any excuse will do. But the fact is in Korea Starcraft is a legitimate sport. They practically have stadiums for the pro leagues. This whole thing can be looked at in one of two ways.
1) Someone decided it was about time gaming be recognised as real competition and should also be bet on.
2) Someone decided that something else needed to be bet on, gaming was chosen because it is competition

eh, you decide, I honestly don't care.
 

DazZ.

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2009
5,542
0
41
Joe Cullinan said:
Paddy Power is an Irish bookies by the way.
I'd have never guessed that...

OT: I'd love to bet on games that I knew about, but I know nothing of SF so won't bother putting money down.
 

the_tramp

New member
May 16, 2008
878
0
0
So does this mean that the UK is turning into the next Korea? I've got nothing against it actually I wouldn't mind actually seeing competitively played games being broadcast.
 

Mr. GameBrain

New member
Aug 10, 2009
847
0
0
I'd love to see more of this!

I just hope it doesn't degenerate into FIFA and COD matches though! (Which it likely will unfortunately... :( )
 

Crops

Probably more bored than you
Aug 16, 2009
92
0
0
I wonder what the odds are on one of the players having a friend bet a ton against him and throwing the game...
 

RowdyRodimus

New member
Apr 24, 2010
1,154
0
0
Hmmm, to win a meaningless title someone made up or make a buttload of cash by having bets made against myself by proxy?

Yeah, this is going to end well.
 

Billion Backs

New member
Apr 20, 2010
1,431
0
0
The term "sports" only means that people might watch it so you can endorse various useless shit.

I mean, all of the sports events are there just for the ads, right?