Paddy Power Sparks Rage by Taking Bets on Oscar Pistorius’ Murder Trial

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has come up with a new form of gambling: murder trial betting.

Paddy Power has done it again. The Irish bookmaker has announced it was accepting bets on the outcome of Oscar Pistorius’ trial. The company even offered to refund players their money, if the man is cleared by the court.

The company has certainly outdone itself this time, by reinventing online and mobile betting with an advert that shows Pistorius mocked up as an Academy Award statue. “It’s Oscar time. Money back if he walks. We will refund all losing bets on the Oscar Pistorius trial if he is found not guilty,” the advertisement reads.

Opponents say campaign is “sick”

Critics called the commercial “sick”, claiming that the bookmaker was treating the murder as a sport. Opponents have already gathered more than 1,000 signatures to stop the controversial ad campaign.

However, Paddy Power is showing no intention of pulling the ad, saying that the company is simply looking to spice things up for customers using its online sportsbook in the UK. “It is being talked about in every pub. We are not offering it because it is a murder trial, we are offering odds because it is a huge global event,” a Paddy Power spokesman said.

The South African sprint runner was charged with murdering his girlfriend last year, on Valentine’s Day. Pistorius fired four shots through the locked bathroom door, killing the woman inside, but claimed that he did not do it intentionally, as he thought there was an “intruder” in the bathroom.