While the Olympics do not traditionally attract widespread betting, in the 2008 Beijing games, gamblers didn’t just bet on who will win and by how much. Bookmakers opened up betting on medal counts, too, with interest and money riding high on American swimmer Michael Phelps. Will he beat the previous gold medal count? Odds were in his favour. In fact, he did!

Politics have been attracting gamblers’ attention in recent years, with some profiting (and others losing) from the election of Nicolas Sarkozy in France last year. And a movie’s success at the box office is not only a gamble for its investors – bookmakers offer betting on ticket sales as well! The recent release of the new Batman movie is one such example.

But people find the most bizarre (or outrageous, depending on how you look at it) things on which to place bets. Earlier this year, with the debut of Apple’s new iPhone, wagering on sales volume was a hot internet gamble. And last year, an online gambling site offered wagering on whether Heather Mills’ prosthetic leg would fall off during her appearance on the American television show Dancing with the Stars!!