Maybe if Enron hadn’t collapsed, it wouldn’t have taken this long for this new market to develop.
Tyler Cowen points us to the The Ticket Reserve, a web-based company that has created an options market for tickets to championship sporting events. An account holder can buy and sell options to purchase tickets at face value to popular sporting events such as NFL playoff games, BCS bowl games, and NCAA Basketball Tournament games.
Thus, you could currently purchase an option to buy two upper deck tickets to the Final Four to see the Texas Longhorns play for $169. If the Horns make it to the Final Four, then you would pay the face value of the tickets ($140), plus the $169 option price. Your risk is that the Horns do not make the Final Four, in which case your option becomes worthless and you would be out the $169 option price. While you wait for the Final Four, you can sell your option for whatever price the market will bear, presumably for more than $169 if the Horns play particularly well or for less if one or two of the Horns’ starters are injured before the NCAA tournament. Thus, if you’re a player in this market, the key would be to pick as many relatively low-valued darkhorse teams as possible early and then ride the speculation that the teams will do well in the NCAA tournament to big profits in the sale of your options during the run-up to the NCAA tournament.
Inasmuch as this type of market is cut out for the Sports Economist, Brad Humphreys also provides his insights.
Houston's Clear Thinkers
Longtime Houston attorney Tom Kirkendall's observations on developments in law, business, medicine, culture, sports, and other matters of general interest to the Houston business, professional, and academic communities.
Tom,
This is a really interesting site, and it reminded me of another sports market site that a friend sent my way a while back. It’s called Trade Sports (www.tradesports.com), and it provides a similar market format for betting on sports games. You buy shares of teams to win or lose particular contests, and can trade those shares for a profit or loss throughout the contest. They also allow trading on all kinds of political and social “will they-won’t they” questions. I’m not much of a gambling man (except maybe the occasional Hold ‘Em game), but it’s a pretty interesting site just to cruise around.
Well anyway, keep up the great work, and come check out Anxiety, Addiction and Depression Treatments if you have the chance!