WWE to Legalize Betting on Scripted Match Results

The WWE has entered into discussions with state gambling regulators in Colorado and Michigan to legalize betting on high-profile matches. According to sources familiar with the matter, the company is working with accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) to keep match results confidential and prove to regulators that betting on scripted matches is safe. The idea is to have major sports betting companies offer bets on WWE matches, similar to the way betting on the Academy Awards is already legal and available through some sports betting applications.Ernst & Young has a track record of working with award shows, including the Academy Awards and the Emmys, to keep results secret until they are announced publicly. WWE executives are hoping that using this approach will convince regulators that betting on scripted matches is safe. However, while betting on the Academy Awards is legal in some states, most do not allow it. Even if regulators allow gambling, betting companies will have to decide if they are willing to place odds on WWE matches, which is still up for discussion.

The WWE has proposed that scripted match results be locked in months ahead of time, and the wrestlers themselves would not know who would win until shortly before the match takes place. This could alter how matches are produced and how storylines are created. For example, the company could lock the results of Wrestlemania’s main event months ahead of time, based on a scripted storyline hinged on the winner of January’s Royal Rumble. Betting on the match could then take place between the end of the Royal Rumble and up to days or even hours before Wrestlemania, when the wrestlers and others in the show’s production would learn the results.

If the WWE succeeds in its bid to legalize gambling on matches, it could open the door for legalized betting on other scripted events, such as future character deaths in TV series. The introduction of legalized gambling could give WWE an increased appeal to a new set of fans while significantly altering creative storylines. However, this plan is still in the discussion phase, and there is no assurance that a transaction will take place.