Canada is rolling out the red carpet for Taylor Swift – and one online sportsbook has rolled out several betting markets that will let Swifties and/or innocent bystanders wager on what will be seen and heard in Toronto over the next two weeks.
Yes, Swift and her Eras Tour entourage are descending on Ontario’s capital for six concerts starting tonight – which is expected to be a Big Deal – and, if you hurry, you might just be able to get down some money on the proceedings.
FanDuel has been hanging odds in the province – where it is authorized to offer online sports betting and internet casino gambling – for various outcomes tied to Swift’s string of Toronto shows.
For example, FanDuel users could wager on what colour skirt Swift will wear when she starts singing "Style" on Thursday night in Toronto. As of this afternoon, "blue" was the shortest option, at odds of +125.
FanDuel has a handful of betting markets up in Ontario in connection with Taylor Swift's Toronto shows, including odds for Travis Kelce attending one of the concerts.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) November 13, 2024
("Does not attend a concert in Toronto" is -125) pic.twitter.com/vIXa53IdN8
Another market that could have more crossover appeal with FanDuel’s more typical clientele of stick-and-ball bettors was what day, if any, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will attend one of his beau’s shows in Toronto. As of this afternoon, Thursday, Nov. 14, was the -125 favorite.
Also available as of Thursday afternoon were betting markets for which “surprise” songs could be played during Swift’s performances and whether she may announce a “Taylor’s Version” of her “Reputation” album while in Toronto.
“Ontario bettors are tapped in, and the FanDuel Canada Trading Team is seeing some interesting activity,” the team told Covers in a statement. “Currently, the most bet-on surprise song is ‘Our Song’, and over half of FanDuel Swifties think T Swift will announce Reputation T.V. in Toronto! On the other hand, fans are nearly evenly split between if Travis will or will not attend a TO show and almost half of fans think her skirt will be blue.”
FanDuel is using some unique methods to grade its Swift bets. The Thursday skirt market, for instance, will be settled "according to the official photos from Getty Images from Taylor Swift Eras Tour Concert in Toronto on November 14th."
Whether Kelce is deemed to have attended one of Swift’s Toronto concerts will be decided by the tight end “being physically in the building at the Rogers Centre at any time from show start time to end according to official news outlet People.com,” FanDuel says.
We are never betting that together
The Swift markets appear to have lower limits than, say, the NFL or NBA.
I tried to bet $25 that Kelce would no-show Swift’s Toronto concerts but could only get down $10. Some of the other markets looked like they allowed for bigger bets, but, frankly, I wasn’t about to deposit more to try to find out exactly how high those limits were.
That’s not a huge shock, as “novelty” markets are, well, a novelty. Much more will be staked on tonight’s NFL game than the Eras Tour at FanDuel, and the limits will accordingly be higher.
FanDuel, though, has made a point of building up its novelty business in the Ontario sports betting market. Its Canadian arm has a designated “Culture and Entertainment Trader” who helps the bookmaker set odds and create betting markets for pop culture and political events, among other things.
Colourful markets
It also fits in with part of the MO of the recreational sports wagering business these days, which is to take a buzzy event – like Swift’s arrival in Toronto – and give people something they can bet.
Betting on this year’s U.S. presidential election was one of those events, at least in Ontario, where it was legal. In fact, Swift is listed as one of the options in the 2028 U.S. election betting odds.
However, the Super Bowl always has tons of novelty props available as well, such as the colour of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach.
FanDuel has a similar market for this week's Grey Cup, with "blue" the clubhouse leader to be poured on the CFL's championship-winning coach.
There are also markets for the length of the Canadian national anthem and the first song of the Jonas Brothers' half-time set for the Grey Cup, among other things.
FanDuel has up markets for a variety of other novelties, too, such as the timing of the first snowfall in Toronto this winter and whether the infamous Australian Olympic breakdancer "Raygun" will compete on her home country's version of "Dancing with the Stars."
