Sports fans probably miss sports more than usual this week.
This week, of course, would normally feature the opening rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which is one of America’s biggest sporting events each year.
But the NCAA tournament and virtually all professional sports leagues across the globe have been forced to suspend play because of the coronavirus. That means the loss of games and all of the betting (and brackets) that come with them.
If you’re still looking to make picks, however, there is a new way to do so, although this method requires a slightly different skill set than picking the winners and losers of a sports game: betting on weather forecasts.
Canadian-based sports gambling website Bovada is on weather forecasts, and they’re primarily for temperature forecasts. For example, you can bet on the high and/or low temperature for Chicago or New York City, among a handful of other cities.
While weather bets for Denver are unavailable on Bovada, weather enthusiasts — or wannabe weather enthusiasts — can try their hand forecasting against meteorologists and oddsmakers.
Other websites and apps, such as the , also offer different forms of weather betting. Weather Battle allows you to select a handful of American cities — including Denver — and determine, for example, which ones might have the hottest or coldest temperature that day. Those cities alter in price based on climatology, time of year and other factors.
“It’s a crazy time right now. We’ve had a definite uptick,” said Jon Haverfield, a meteorologist and vice president of sales for Weather Battle, which will reintroduce paid games next week in response to the recent spike in interest. “There’s not any sports that are happening right now. (Sports fans) are looking for something fun, maybe they’ll come across our app.”
At least one Las Vegas insider is skeptical of the level of excitement weather gambling could generate over the long run.
“I think people are conservative with their money right now, because of the uncertainty of what we’re facing,” said Jay Kornegay, executive vice president of operations for the Westgate SuperBook. “Most people prefer to watch it, the entertainment value. People enjoy the highs and the lows with their friends. That’s the majority of the gamblers.”
“With (weather betting), I’m not sure if you’re going to be watching the thermometer. I don’t know if that creates enough interest. Will people bet it? Yes. But those events that are on TV are a lot more popular. I can’t imagine it being a betting option that would get a lot of bets.”
In the near term, however, the lack of sports could create at least a temporary opportunity for a meteorological form of gambling to take over.
“It’s a really interesting time for the world, and it’s really interesting to see all the attention it’s gotten,” Haverfield said. “We’re going to give an avenue for people to play, and hopefully that’ll help grow our app.”
“It’s a mix between die-hard weather nuts and we also have a lot of fantasy sports players as well. We do have a very big weather enthusiast crowd. We’re trying to appeal (to the sports crowd) more.”
