The question of whether or not alien life exists has been the topic of countless books, movies, TV shows, and even academic research papers, so it is perhaps no surprise that bookmakers have got in on the action.
Yes, in the past there have been a number of bookies who have offered markets on the existence of alien life being discovered, or other markets around the same idea.
And if you are thinking it’s a bit of a strange thing to offers odds on, how strange must the people be who took those odds?
People have done though, and there are more than a few examples of bookmakers offering these sorts of markets on alien life.
I will be highlighting and discussing a few of them here, but it is a popular ‘weird’ bet type that seems to come up again and again, so don’t be surprised if you stumble across a wagering opportunity concerning little green men in the future too.
Betting Markets on Alien Life That Bookies Actually Offered
This sort of bet would fit most accurately in the ‘novelty’ category, which for a time was getting a lot of attention, largely thanks to the likes of certain bookmakers who were clearly enjoying themselves with the novelty markets they offered.
The most famous of these in the UK, was PaddyPower.
In 2012, they were offering odds on both when alien life would be confirmed by the sitting President of the USA, and which country would have first contact.
As you can see though, the best odds were 100/1 for 2012, which, for the levels of weird the market is at, seems a bit short to me. The odds of 1/50 for 2020 or later are obviously not worth taking, so there was only a 7 year period worth betting on in terms of odds.
You could have found more favourable prices in the Country to Have First Contact market, but God knows how they decided which countries were more or less likely to be the chosen landing spot for earth’s first martian visitors.
They also had a bit of fun with the alien theme in 2023, when they offered odds of 250/1 that aliens would be discovered before Tottenham Hotspur next win a major trophy – which had Chelsea fans laughing.
BetUS, an American bookmaker, offered odds on who would be abducted first in the event of an alien invasion, with options as varied as Elon Musk, Courtney Cox, and Cristiano Ronaldo (all people who might actually be aliens, ironically), as well as pricing a market on whether the humans or the aliens would win if we went to war.
Another alien related betting market came out of a different US bookmaker called Bovada.
Someone in Australia set up a Facebook event in 2019, stating that they would storm Area 51 in the Nevada desert, scale the fences, and “see them aliens”. The rationale was that if enough people joined the raid, it would be impossible to stop all of them.
1.3 million people said they would attend, and predictably, many many of those did not turn up, but some did. They ended up just having a bit of a rave in the end, but Bovada and others got wind of it and offered odds on whether or not the raid would go ahead, whether or not it would be successful, and how many people would actually turn up.
These were all markets that punters actually had a chance of winning, which makes them distinct from the more generic “When Will Alien Life be Proven” markets.
The news made it over to the UK too, with PaddyPower of course getting in on the action, offering 5/1 on alien life being discovered by the end of the year.
With a bunch of crazy Americans planning to storm Area 51, we make it a 5/1 shot that Alien Existence will be proven in 2019! https://t.co/4vU74Y0tRe https://t.co/7vS2pVHtnA
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) July 12, 2019
What are the Chances of Alien Life Existing?
Well, in my capacity as an expert in UFOs and little green men, with a doctorate in extra terrestrial life forms*, I would have to say that in my view, it is highly likely.
To get to the end of the known universe – so just the bits we have seen evidence of – would take 225,000,000,000,000 (trillion) years, and it is full of other planets. Scientists believe that Mars was once not dissimilar to earth, and they have found water on numerous planets in various forms, so life could theoretically be supported.
The endless space beyond our planet goes on forever as far as anybody knows, so it is inconceivable that life hasn’t managed to form somewhere else out there. Probably on many different planets – maybe some of them have even come into contact with each other.
This isn’t some crazy tin foil hat theory, it’s a statistical probability.
In fact, many performance rights and intellectual property contracts include clauses covering usage in outer space – so people sign away the rights to their work on this planet and on any other that might be discovered. Why would they do that if it wasn’t at least slightly possible?
So betting on alien life being discovered might not be such a bonkers idea after all if you look at it as a numbers game, but you’re great great grandchildren might be the ones collecting your winnings rather then you, because who knows how long it will take to find evidence.
*That was a lie. I don’t have a doctorate in anything, let alone extra terrestrial life forms, and the only field in which I might consider myself an expert is annoying my wife.
When Would a Bookie Pay Out on Alien Betting Markets?
This is the really tricky part, not whether or not alien life might actually exist.
The terms and conditions for a betting market on the discovery of extra terrestrial life forms would make for interesting reading. What counts as aliens?
Do they have to have their own language; do they need to have extra fingers and toes; do they need to be carrying ray guns?
What if scientists discovered a planet covered in some weird form of alien moss with a genetic makeup completely different to anything on earth – is your bet a winner?
If a spaceship landed from another planet and the people that got off were essentially human, just from 8 billion light years away, would the bookmaker claim they did not count as alien life and refuse to pay out?
They probably would, wouldn’t they?
This is why I don’t think it’s worth taking a bet like this, even for fun, because you’re basically just giving the bookie your money. Even if 3 headed monsters from the planet Zorg did suddenly descend and start beaming people up, and firing pulse cannons at Big Ben, would cashing in a ten pound bet at your local Ladbrokes really be your first instinct?
Mine would be to get as many cans of beans and packs of toilet roll as possible and head to the countryside, but a guide on surviving an alien invasion is probably best suited to an article of its own.