You probably think we’ve seen it all in the entertainment betting world: wagering on elections, celebrity relationships and the outcome of reality television shows. But, think again – a new online gambling website is giving university and college students the chance to bet on their grades.
The website is run by Ultrinsic and allows students to upload their student schedule, giving the server access to their school records. The website then calculates the student’s odds of obtaining certain grades in each of their classes using data the webmaster has obtained about the school’s history and the difficulty of its classes and professors.
Currently, the website is available to students at New York University and the University of Pennsylvania, but Ultrinsic hopes to expand its services to 36 schools across the United States by the end of the year. That is, if the company does not come under fire for encouraging online gambling. However, Ultrinsic maintains that it cannot be labelled as such, as there is a high level of skill involved in winning.
The website seems to encourage students to perform to their full potential in university – rather than capitalizing off of students who simply want to make a few extra dollars. It is certainly an innovative venture, and it will be interesting to see how far it expands and if other countries will hop on the bandwagon.
