According to reports, WWE has conducted negotiations with state gambling regulators in Colorado and Michigan about legalizing betting on scripted match results.
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According to sources familiar with the situation, WWE is in negotiations with state gambling regulators in Colorado and Michigan about legalizing betting on high-profile matchups. According to the sources who requested not to be identified because the negotiations are private, WWE is working with the accounting company EY to safeguard staged match outcomes in the hopes of convincing authorities that there is no risk of results leaking to the public. Accounting companies PricewaterhouseCoopers and EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, have long cooperated with award ceremonies to keep results private, including the Academy Awards and the Emmys.
Betting on the Academy Awards is already allowed, and certain sports betting apps, including industry leaders FanDuel and DraftKings, offer it, while most states prohibit it. According to the sources, WWE management has used Oscars betting as a model to persuade authorities that gambling on staged fights is safe.
Yet, while the Academy Awards voting results are known to a select few before they are made public, they are not scripted by authors. Even if authorities authorize gambling, betting organizations must decide if they are willing to put wagers on WWE matches. According to those acquainted with the situation, those conversations have yet to take place at betting companies.
A WWE representative declined to comment. EY’s spokesman could not be reached for comment right away. The Michigan Gaming Control Board, according to a Michigan gaming representative, produces a Sports Wagering Catalog. After catalog changes are authorized, the information is made public via the agency’s website and shared with sportsbook operators.
The Colorado Division of Gambling informed CNBC that it does not presently accept sports betting wagers on WWE contests and has not contemplated doing so.
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If WWE is successful in legalizing gambling on matches, it might pave the way for regulated betting on other closely guarded, secret scripted events, such as future character deaths in TV shows.
Allowing gambling on specific WWE bouts would change how matches are produced, as well as how storylines are developed. According to those familiar with the situation, WWE officials have advocated that scripted results of matches be locked in months ahead of time in conversations about how wagering on wrestling may operate. According to the locals, the wrestlers would not know whether they were winning or losing until soon before the bout.
For example, the WWE might set the outcome of Wrestlemania’s main event months in advance, based on a scripted narrative that depended on the victor of the Royal Rumble in January. Betting on the match could then take place between the conclusion of the Royal Rumble and the days, if not hours, before Wrestlemania, when the wrestlers and others involved in the show’s production would hear the outcome.
Legalized gambling might improve WWE’s appeal to a new set of viewers while substantially affecting creative storylines. In July, Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, took over as president of WWE’s creative operations from Vince McMahon. McMahon stood down as WWE chairman and CEO last year amid sexual misconduct claims but returned to the WWE board as executive chairman in January to help the business prepare for a sale.
According to two of the sources, WWE plans to meet with possible purchasers for the firm next month in preparation for first-round offers. There is no guarantee that a transaction will take place.
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