By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – While Taylor Swift has not revealed if she will jet across the Pacific Ocean to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce at the Feb. 11 Super Bowl in Las Vegas, that has not stopped online sportsbooks from offering bets that revolve around her presence at the game.
Novelty bets around major sporting events are nothing new but a number of sports betting companies decided to have some fun with the Swift-Kelce craze after the Kansas City Chiefs punched their Super Bowl ticket.
One of the bolder wagers that can be made is being offered by FanDuel Canada, which is allowing people to bet on whether Chiefs tight end Kelce will propose to the pop superstar at the Super Bowl.
With a week to go until the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers, FanDuel Canada said the “Will Travis Kelce pop the question?” market is split at 70% yes and 30% no.
“At FanDuel Canada, we are always looking for ways to keep our customers engaged in major moments such as the Super Bowl,” the FanDuel Canada Trading Team said in an email to Reuters.
“Our trading team has been working hard to offer markets on all things halftime show, coin toss, the national anthem and even Taylor Swift specific markets.”
Swift has attended several Chiefs games this season but her presence at the Super Bowl is in question given the “Anti-Hero” singer has a Feb. 10 concert in Tokyo followed by a run of shows in Australia starting on Feb. 16 in Melbourne.
Still, BetUS has no shortage of zany Swift-related prop bets — which are wagers in sports betting not tied to the outcome of a game — including whether the Grammy-winning artist and Kelce will announce their first pregnancy at the Super Bowl.
BetUS also has odds on how many times Swift will be shown on camera during the Super Bowl, if her and Kelce will be shown kissing after the game and whether the game’s most valuable player will mention her in his speech.
While the Halftime Show, which this year will feature Grammy-winning artist Usher, is traditionally the focus of non-game related prop bets, BetUS feels the interest in Swift could potentially change that.
“The volume of bets on Taylor Swift props might – for at least this year – give the Halftime Show a literal run for its money in terms of betting volume,” Tim Williams, director of public relations for BetUS, told Reuters.
“Sportsbook, including us here at BetUS.com, really owe it to Taylor Swift this year for bringing the industry millions of dollars in additional revenue.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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