Betting-hungry Brits wager on royal wedding

LONDON — Two of Britain's favorite pastimes — royal-watching and betting — are morphing into one raucous market centered on the royal wedding.

Prince William and Kate Middleton aren't married yet — that is scheduled for April 29 — but some Britons already are betting they will divorce.

"There's a real tradition of betting on what the royals will do next," said Darren Haines, a spokesman for bookmaker Paddy Power.

After news of the engagement broke in November, the wedding's date — as in, what month — brought in $48,000 worth of bets for betting firm Ladbrokes, spokesman Alex Donohue said. The where — confirmed as Westminster Abbey — drew about $24,000 worth of wagers for the firm.

With those questions answered, bookmakers are adding novelty bets before more details emerge.

Will Middleton walk into Westminster Abbey on time, be three minutes late, or make guests wait 11 minutes for a glimpse? Who will design her gown? How long will the train of her dress be? What shoes will she wear? Gamblers are invited to place bets on all the above.

Most bookmakers are running a variation of the divorce question, with almost certain odds the couple will make it to their 10th anniversary.

London retiree Lisa Barret, 55, thinks that's an "awful idea" for a market.

"You don't gamble on something like someone's marriage," she said.

Bookmakers differ and are eagerly considering suggestions for additions to the "wedding-special" options as April 29 approaches. It might seem nothing is off-limits, yet even bookmakers draw the line somewhere: rejecting wagering on the likelihood of a terrorist act on the day of the ceremony.

"We don't look to bet on anything that's distasteful, so we refused that request," Haines said. "This is all about fun."

The average wager — $5.50 — reflects that gamblers are betting money they don't mind losing, said Rupert Adams, a spokesman for bookmaker William Hill.

William Hill is looking to add three or four new wedding specials a week. Bets are open on the location of William's stag party and who Prince Harry will take to the wedding as his date.

Betting on the couple's honeymoon destination closed at William Hill on Jan. 10, after an attempted wager of $8,000 in favor of Kenya by a new account raised red flags.

"Nobody would risk ($8,000) unless they knew already that they were definitely going to go to Kenya," Adams said.

William Hill has seen about 1,750 wedding-related bets worth about $44,200 placed since news of the engagement, he said.

By comparison, more than $476,000 worth of bets were placed during the final episode of Britain's beloved "X Factor." Still, Adams said he expects volume to ramp up right before the wedding.

After all, the public won't know until at least April 29 if James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" — the odds-on favorite for the couple's first dance — was chosen.