Betting on the Impossible: The Growing Market for Odds on UFOs and Government Secrets
by Alex J Coyne © Gifts for Card Players August 2026
Betting on the odds might make you think of horse racing, or perhaps betting on the outcome of a soccer or tennis match for a shot at winning. However, these days modern iGaming platforms also offer betting on non-sporting events–and it’s fair to say there are a lot of unusual or weird things you could wager on if you wanted to.
You could wager on the outcome of the next football match like most punters… Or you could pick something weird to wager on instead.
Unusual or novelty bets are increasingly popular out there, and you could also wager on political outcomes, different foods, or the confirmation of extraterrestrial life.
What’s the weirdest event you could imagine betting on?
(We’d bet you it’s out there.)
Here’s a look at prop betting on the impossible, and the growing market for weird wagers.
Weird and Unusual Bets
A proposition bet is anything that wagers outside of the outcome scores of a sports event; on the other hand, a novelty bet is something that often falls entirely outside the sporting world. Novelty bets can include anything with an outcome you could guess at… And yes, novelty betting truly includes anything.
Sunbet offers “bets on reality shows, award ceremonies, and global events.”
According to Soccerwidow, one of the first infamous novelty bets was “Who Killed JR?” on the TV show Dallas back in 1980. Since then the phenomenon has entered mainstream betting platforms–this 2012 CBS News article reveals that the London Olympics included wagers on the Olympians’ diets and bets on the likelihood of UFO sightings.
Presidential elections have also drawn just as many wagers over time. If you want to do more than endorse your candidate with a vote, turns out you could also bet on it…
More Weird and Wonderful Wagers
If you wanted to, you could bet on the outcomes of shows like Strictly Come Dancing.
However, if that still sounds like too “regular” of a bet for your tastes, then you could also bet on the Costco Hot Dog Index. (That is, whether or not Costco will change the price of their famous hot dogs.)
Players have also bet on bands and musicians like who would leave the band One Direction. Alien abductions, close encounters, and royal baby names have also been part of potential punter predictions.
Novelty betting is attractive because it’s interesting, fun, and quirky … But also because the odds pay out much better if you happen to strike it right on a novelty bet.
Anywhere you could wonder about the outcome of something (or potentially predict what might happen next), you could bet on it.
In April 1964, someone had bet £10 that humans would walk on the moon … And yes, David Threlfall reportedly collected his money after Apollo 11 (at 1000 to 1 odds!).
Novelty betting might just get you better results than regular betting, though keep in mind that there’s a reason novelty bets are on things considered weird, unusual, or less likely than a sports match!
Which Sites Offer Novelty Bets?
An increasing amount of betting providers and bookmakers provide novelty bets.
If you’d like to see what’s out there, try some of these reputable providers that have become somewhat famous for their strange and interesting bets.
