Weather betting is a novelty betting market that you might find listed under specials with your preferred online bookmaker. Betting on the weather can include such variables as guessing the temperature, will an occasion see rain, will it snow at Christmas time and will various temperature records being broken. While it might not seem it, betting on the weather is a thriving betting market and a great option when there is not a lot of sport on.
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What Is Weather Betting?
Betting on the weather has grown in popularity over recent years and is exactly what you think it is, the practise of wagering on numerous aspects of what the weather might do or bring. Given the way this market works at UK bookmakers, its betting markets are seasonal and split two categories, the winter and the summer. Of course, winter in the UK isn’t going to break any temperature records while at the same time it isn’t very likely to snow in July.
How Weather Betting Works
Weather betting works in exactly the same way as any other kind of betting. Bettors log on to their favoured online bookmaker and navigate their way to the weather specials which are usually listed under the Specials tab. Once there, punters pick the punt they wish to place and do exactly that. If someone has made a bet that the hottest day ever on record will occur in a certain month and it does, then they win. If not, they lose.
Why Bet on The Forecast?
Betting on the weather is growing in popularity all of the time and one of the main reasons for this is that it provides a distraction from the day today. Plus, when you think about it, here in the UK, we are pretty obsessed with the weather, letting it lead most conversations. Also, the weather affects us and connects us each day so why not have a little fun with it, especially if sport is quiet that week.
Typical Weather Betting Markets
Standard markets for betting on the weather include, but are not limited to, predicting the temperature in a given month, backing a temperature range, making exact predictions or average rainfall markets.
Average Rainfall
Average rainfall charts are designed to record the amount of rain that has fallen. Luckily for us though it also allows an under/over betting market to pop up. As in, will period X see more or less rainfall than an amount set by the bookmakers for you to bet against.
Daily Temperature – UK Highest Temp
While the UK is not typically a warm country, it does enjoy pleasant summers (and moderate winters). To that end, it is perfectly reasonable for Britain to enjoy a record-breaking summer which would, of course, mean breaking the hottest day ever recorded. For the record, the UK’s hottest ever day was recorded on July 25th, 2019 when temperatures soared to a sizzling for British 39 degrees Celsius.
Hottest Day of Year
When we bet on the hottest day of the year, you are not expected to predict the exact date. Instead, you are betting on the month that will contain the record-breaking day. In case some of you were feeling silly, bookmakers have even removed the winter months from selections.
White Christmas Day
We are all dreaming of a white Christmas so why not bet on one actually happening? Interestingly, while in the UK snow is unlikely to fall in December, the definition that the Met Office uses to define a white Christmas is for just one single snowflake to be observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December somewhere in the UK, so it might be easier than you first thought.
River Thames to Freeze Over
Bookmakers have been known to offer odds of around 100/1 for the Thames, the main river in London, to freeze completely over between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge, its most famous stretch. In case you were wondering, the last time the Thames froze over was during the great freeze of 1963.
Big Ben to Freeze Solid
Similarly, there are usually winter books open on Big Ben failing to chime at some point in the coldest of seasons due to being frozen solid. In the past, we have seen bookmakers offering 100/1 on such an occurrence.
More Novelty Betting
ThePuntersPage Final Say
In those difficult times when there is not so much going on, betting on the weather really steps up to the plate and comes in handy. To be fair, even when there is a lot going on, weather betting is still a great way to bet. Plus, with certain bets being seasonal, and the role the weather performs in our lives this day and age, this market remains fresh and interesting all year long.
Weather Betting FAQs
Absolutely! You can bet on the weather in exactly the same way you would a normal sports bet.
Weather betting is usually listed under the specials tab.
Yes, there is normally a market on what the weather will like for, say the Superbowl, for example.
If you can’t see the bet you want to place, you can always try and request it. One of the leading online bookmakers should be able to find a price.