White Christmas Odds Not Really Proof Of Climate Change

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Some see it as proof the British will bet on anything. Certainly, the weather is a particularly British subject for speculative wagers. However, as online betting sites in the UK like Bet365 unveil their White Christmas odds some see them as more. They claim that the long odds on a White Christmas some UK cities now get prove man-made climate change is real. Unfortunately, the history of this bizarrely British novelty bet at Christmas doesn’t really support the theory. 

Christmas spirit descends earlier and earlier each year with shops sprouting Xmas displays well ahead of November. So the British start speculating on all sorts of Christmas-related subjects. They’ll check out the odds on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, or bet on the Christmas No.1. Online sportsbook sites in the UK like Bet365 thus provide prices for all sorts of things they’d normally not. White Christmas odds are just part and parcel of these quasi-traditions.

Bet On The Weather This Winter Time

There are many myths associated with a bet on a White Christmas. The first is that the further north a city is, the more likely it is to see snow. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stand up to examination. Just look at the prices on offer. Bristol gets 8/1 White Christmas odds whilst London gets just 5/1. So, geography doesn’t appear to matter. Yes, Scottish cities do get slightly shorter odds, but not by as much as you’d think. Edinburgh barely gets 3/1 at Bet365 right now.

UK Odds On A White Christmas 

• Bristol – 8/1
• Cardiff – 8/1
• Liverpool – 8/1
• Dublin – 6/1
• Cork – 6/1
• Leeds – 6/1
• London – 5/1
• Manchester – 5/1
• Belfast – 9/2
• Birmingham – 4/1
• Newcastle – 4/1
• Glasgow – 3/1
• Edinburgh – 3/1
• Aberdeen – 11/4

Now some people see this as proof of climate change. They feel that because bookies are offering what amount to long White Christmas odds, this must herald our doom. Of course, science doesn’t quite work like that, and anyone who still requires any proof is a tad suspect in of themselves. You know, like those those idiots who still bet on sports in the UK not being sexist, racist and homophobic despite all the evidence. A White Christmas is hardly an extreme weather event. 

Bet365 Has All Your White Christmas Odds

People might think they are, but that’s just because they’re not all that common. London has barely had a dozen of them in the last 120 years. That’s one in ten. However, infrequency doesn’t equate to extremity. So the bookies are actually offering rather good White Christmas odds, if you think about the actual likelihoods. They like to keep this silly weather wager fun. Plus they also know that snow really isn’t all that common however much Bing Crosby sings about it.

“Ho! Ho! Ho!”

• Father Christmas

Sure, the White Christmas odds have changed over the years. However, they’re not shorter due to global warming or the onset of a new ice age. They’re shorter because online bookies in the UK are just a mite worried about those extreme weather events. Climate change is all too real but doesn’t mean warmer or colder, just less predictable. So if you’re going to take advantage of UK gambling laws to check out the prices for this yuletide flutter, just remember it’s only a bit of fun.

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We take a look at the White Christmas odds as people start to unnecessarily see them as proof of climate change.