Can you bet on..

Yes! We are in the grips of a global recession. People have either lost their job already or live in fear of the axe and every week we hear economists and politicians debating what the rate of unemployment will be in the near future.Talking about your predictions is one thing, but actually putting money on it take the courage of tiger! Centrebet agree and have opened a market for the official Australian unemployment rate for May 2009. The current favorite is 5.6 - 5.7% paying $3.00 for every $1 bet.

On it’s own, this isn’t really that big a story, that was until the Treasurer of the state of Queensland in Australia, Mr Andrew Fraser decided to chime in. He has decided he doesn’t like it. Here is part of what he had to say in a recent news article;

Taking bets and making money out of the misfortune of the unemployment is as distasteful as it gets.

Well, I did some research on this and was surprised to learn that High Horse Fraser presides over 41,809 slot machines which generates a tidy $550 million a year for the Government. Is the minister really suggesting the offering slot machines is moral, while letting people bet on economic and financial data isn’t?

Anyhow, if this sort of bet interests you, head over to Centrebet and have a go.