Betting isn’t just about working out whether Manchester City will win their next match. Nor is it just about hoping your selection for the 3.15 at Sedgefield is successful. It’s also possible to bet on everything from the next Doctor Who or James Bond to the winner of Britain’s Got Talent. However, caution must be taken when making your choices.
Sunday May 8 was the day that fans of Doctor Who had been waiting for. The replacement for the current Doctor was named and surprisingly, it was Ncuti Gatwa. An interesting choice and one that will have delighted some and angered others. Particularly delighted were bookmakers who had been offering odds on who would replace Whittaker.
It’s fair to say that the appointment of Gatwa was an excellent one for the bookies. The market had actors such as Olly Alexander and even former Doctor, David Tennant as the favourites to take over the role. Gatwa was a choice that didn’t see many payouts be made to customers, if any at all.
Betting on such a market can be fun but also dangerous. Russell T. Davies is returning to Doctor Who and he’s delighted at the fact the choice for the next Doctor was such a surprise. The decision had been made in February but still the stories about who might get the job continued and it appears that Davies was behind some of them.
He gleefully admitted that “a couple of misleading things” had been released so that fans thought anything but Gatwa being the choice. He seems to think it’s all fun and games doing that, but it isn’t. Davies can go around bragging about what a certain former American President would call “fake news.” Davies said: “We’re very pleased that that kind of worked.”
There is a serious side to this though and one that all gamblers should be wary of. The releasing of “misleading things” did put other ideas in the heads of fans. However, it did the same for gamblers who wanted to bet on the market.
We don’t know just which stories were the fake ones. The rumours of James Cordon taking over as the Doctor were false but didn’t come from Davies and his team. Perhaps the ones that indicated David Tennant might return to the role were. Maybe the front-page news of Hugh Grant being cast were as well, we don’t know.
The playing of these games would have influenced the betting market. A story about who might be taking over can lead gamblers to place bets on the person who is the subject of such rumours.
That was seen when Tennant became placed so high in the betting market. Those who indulge in releasing “misleading things” should be aware that their actions might also cost people money. Not so clever then, Mr Davies.
It does get a bit more confusing when the Radio Times start writing articles about the appointment. They even suggested that Gatawa might not be replacing Whittaker. An article pointed out that the press releases didn’t say that Gatawa was going to be ‘the next Doctor.’ If that’s the case, then should gamblers go to their bookies and say their bets aren’t losers just yet? Or is it just another misleading story?
