Oddjack: Smarter Than The Room

READ MORE: Avian-Flu, Bird Flu, Futures Markets, Hurricane Betting, Hurricane Wilma, Terror Betting, Time Magazine

This week, the finger-on-the-pulse journos at Time magazine did a huge story on futures markets and how “in the future” we’ll be able to bet on anything:

“Will an avian-flu epidemic lay waste to millions? Will terrorists strike the New York City subway system before Christmas? Where will the next hurricane make landfall? None of us knows the answers to those questions. But we just might have a better idea than the experts, and our predictions on such matters could prove useful in helping us plan our lives, our portfolios or our escape routes”

Avian-Flu betting? Terrorism? Hurricanes? Get the fuck out of here! Who knew?

Place Your Bets! [Time]
(*Thanks to the boys at Wicked Chops Poker for the heads up.)

Tradesports Markets: We Love The Smell of Burning Roosters in The Morning

READ MORE: Avian Flu, Bird Flu, Bird Flu Trading, Bird Flu U.S., Futures Markets, Tradesports

Need more evidence that a national crisis resulting in widespread death in the United States can be profitable for savvy investors? Welcome to the new market on Tradesports: Bird Flu Confirmation in the U.S.

Right now, the flu market is trading very lightly, but we’re sure that once the first coughing chicken or feverish turkey invades our shores these prices will soar like, um, a bird. For those of you out there woried about such matters, think of this like an insurance policy on your withering, demoralizing deaths. Hey, if we had such forward thinkers around in 1918 during the last flu pandemic, maybe we could’ve avoided that whole Depression thing?

Bird Flu Market in The U.S. [Tradesports]
Bird Flu Panic Spreads Across Europe [People’s Daily Online]
Bird Flue Vaccine-We May Be Last in Line [Seattle Times]
Influenza 1918: The Worst Epidemic The United States Has Ever Known [PBS]
Previously: Hurricane Betting: If Wilma Destroys Florida, We Win! [Oddjack]

The Commodification of Pro Athletes Continues

READ MORE: Fantasy Sports, Futures Markets, ProTrade

Monday’s launch of ProTrade shows just how more and more the fantasy sports industry is starting to resemble legitimate market predictors—and how you can better marry your Wall Street knowledge and your sports obsessiveness. Set up like other futures markets like Intrade and Tradesports, Pro Trade enables the investor to buy and sell athletes based on their performances on their own virtual stock market. Right now, its only NFL Players and no real money is exchanged—for now. But there are cash prizes awarded to members for winning various incentive based competitions on the site. The system was started by Mike Kerns and Jeffery Ma with Michael Lewis’ “MoneyBall” as an inspiration. It’s a data-heads dream and is not reccommended for the casual fantasy sports nerd—this is more geared toward the Football Outsiders crew then let’s say the Yahoo Fantasy Sports’ enthusiast. Right now, however, the site is for some reason not running. Tease.

Online Sports Market Turns Atheletes Into Stocks [MSNBC]
ProTrade Home [ProTrade]