WWE Attempts to Attract New Fans Via Legal Sport Betting

Posted on: May 2, 2023, 01:52h. 

Last updated on: May 2, 2023, 01:54h.

The WWE is trying an unusual tactic to attract new fans and expand their global brand through sports betting. The WWE, who recently merged with Hollywood giant Endeavor, has been unable to lobby multiple state gaming regulators to allow legalized gambling on WWE matches even though pro wrestling is a scripted and choreographed event.

Last month, Endeavor sought to purchase WWE for $9.3 billion and the two agreed on a merger. Endeavor is already the parent company of the UFC, and they’re attempting to build a combat sports entertainment behemoth.

The state of Colorado accepted $5.4 million in wagers on MMA events in March 2023, which represented only 1.1% of all bets. WWE has a much larger fanbase than MMA, and they host events multiple times a week.

In March, CNBC reported that the WWE is targeting legal sports betting states such as Colorado, Indiana, and Michigan. The Colorado Division of Gaming stated that the WWE never contacted them directly and they have no desire to allow sports betting wagers on WWE matches.

The Indiana Gaming Commission told Steve Bittenbender from Casino News that they were not interested in offering wagers on scripted events.

Despite pushback from their targeted states, Endeavor’s will continue to lobby state regulators to allow sports betting on WWE matches and events. Endeavor attempts to expand the WWE brand by attracting new fans by adding a gambling element to it.

WWE: Treat Us Like the Oscars

The WWE is working with accounting firm Ernst & Young to secure scripts beforehand so they are not leaked to the public. Companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young have previous experience handling these duties for awards shows like the Oscars and Emmys.

The WWE is citing Oscars betting as precedent for legalized betting on their wrestling events. The winners are predetermined but not announced until the live broadcast of the Oscars in Hollywood.

New Jersey is the only state that currently allows betting on the Oscars.  Other states have been reticent to allow betting on awards shows. Not every mobile sportsbook in New Jersey offered Oscars betting, but DraftKings and FanDuel were among the options to place your bets on categories like Best Picture.

Gaming regulators in New Hampshire do not allow betting on the Oscars. They’re wary of including WWE as a legalized betting event.

I have a fear of accepting wagers on any event that is perceived to have an outcome that is not based upon performance, but is based upon scripted or engineered efforts,” Charlie McIntyre, New Hampshire Lottery Commission executive director, told Sportico in a recent interview. “It is very unlikely that New Hampshire would consider the WWE suitable content for sports betting.”

There’s a fundamental difference between the Oscars and WWE. The Oscars are determined by counting votes whereas the WWE is scripted by writers. In both instances a small group of people would have intimate knowledge of the outcome, which is point of contention for many state regulators.

Isn’t Wrestling Fake?

There are many difficult coming-of-age moments in a young child’s life when they discover that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy are not real.

There’s also a worldview-shattering moment when young, hardcore wrestling fans discover that pro wrestling is not a real contest of strength and power. Nope, it’s a scripted and choreographed event that has more in common with a theatrical play than a real blood sport like boxing or MMA.

The physical violence and brutality of the WWE might be real, but the outcomes are predetermined. WWE and other wrestling entities have staff writers that work on scripts for each match and event.

Sometimes outcomes for specific matches are a steppingstone for a bigger storyline that is weaved together with other plot lines and spread out over months and leading up to a prestige event like WrestleMania.

Writers hand over the scripts before each WWE event begins. Wrestlers will agree to an outline of potential moves that will occur in the ring depending on the length of the match. Yet, many of the combatants will not know who will win until moments before they step into the ring.

At the WWE, wrestlers find out the outcomes in the Gorilla Tent or Gorilla Position. That dedicated backstage area is where former announcer Gorilla Monsoon sat with Vince McMahon, Sr. to watch the telecast. Wrestlers would stop there to obtain final directives.

When Vince McMahon, Jr. took over, wrestlers would pop into the Gorilla Tent to get instructions from the WWE scion. These days, Paul “Triple H” Levesque is the one that ultimately determines the fate of each match as the head of WWE’s creative operations.