World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has reportedly registered with the Indiana Gaming Commission in a bid to legalize betting on scripted wrestling results.
The organization is working hard to convince regulators that pre-determined results can be kept secret from the betting public.
It has teamed up with accounting firm EY – also known as Ernst & Young – to ensure that results will not be leaked. Creative executives will only inform wrestlers who will win hours before a match begins, and they will be under strict instructions to keep the results to themselves.
EY has previously worked with the Academy Awards and the Emmys to keep the results secret, allowing bettors to speculate on the results.
Betting on the Academy Awards is already legal in certain states, and WWE executives believe they could follow a similar template and permit gambling on scripted matches.
Indiana, Colorado and Michigan are the three states it is targeting, according to CNBC. A source told the site that WWE has already registered with the Indiana Gaming Commission as it ramps up its discussions with regulators.
If successful, it could help attract a new set of fans at a time when founder Vince McMahon is gearing up to sell the company.
Betting would focus on major events such as Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble, according to the report.
Some offshore sportsbooks already take bets on WWE, although bettors can only wager small amounts.
