Market Forces!!! Online Betting Site Lets You Bet Whether Gulf Turtle, Fish Species Will Go Extinct

Think the spreading oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico could drive some species to extinction? Put your money where your mouth is. The gambling website PaddyPower.com placed odds today on what species would be first to become extinct as a result of crude belching from BP PLC's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Odds are the Kemp's ridley turtle, and endangered species that migrates to the Gulf this time of year, would go first. A $5 bet on the turtle would win $9 if it's listed as extinct at any time because of the spill. Less likely species -- the gulf sturgeon, smalltooth sawfish and elkhorn coral -- have payout rates of 20-to-1. In a statement announcing the extinction pool, the Irish bookmaker said it hoped the betting would "highlight the environmental catastrophe" and the "sure bet" that it would lead to the loss of some marine species.

"We kind of have a very simple philosophy at Paddy Power -- within reason if there is a very newsworthy event that are people are talking about, people should be allowed to back up their opinion with some cash," said Ken Robertson, a company spokesman.

EDIT

Marine biologists have said that tuna are at risk from oil and dispersants (Greenwire, May 14). There are two populations of bluefin tuna: One spawns in the Mediterranean and the other in the Gulf of Mexico. The center wants endangered status for both. Bluefin tuna is second on the bookies' list in the PaddyPower.com pool, with a payout rate of 6-to-4.

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http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/05/24/24greenwire-website-offers-betting-on-spill-related-extinc-84733.html

:mad:

I am ashamed of being this species.