UK betting site Win Cash Live has become the first to offer a controversial new market on which celebrity will die within 72 hours of a goal scored by Aaron Ramsey.
This follows the supposed ‘Ramsey Curse’ which has gained some attention recently after the deaths of David Bowie and Alan Rickman were both within 24 hours of Ramsey’s goals against Sunderland and Liverpool. Others who have passed away during the timeframe include Robin Williams, Paul Walker and Whitney Houston.
Win Cash Live features a page on which customers can bet on whether a list of certain celebrities, including Kanye West, Donald Trump and Steven Avery from Netflix documentary series ‘Making of a Murderer’ will be the next to die following a Ramsey goal. Piers Morgan, Gemma Collins, David Cameron and Lady Gaga are others on the list.
This market has also seen the launch of microsite www.RamseysRampage.co.uk, where the story of Ramsey’s killings and a full list of the celebrities available to bet on, including pictures, can be seen.
The digital agency behind the scheme suggested that the ‘intention is not to offend, but simply entertain’, but whether others will see it that way remains to be seen. It seems more of a bad copy of Paddy Power’s close to the bone marketing techniques. Even the skilled Irish bookmaker has come a cropper when offering markets around death, the Oscar Pistoruis trial the most notorius example.
Win Cash Live garnered some attention, and criticism from organisations such as Stonewall, last year after it became the first to offer markets on which England footballer would reveal that they were gay.
Ashley Faull, Founder of Win Cash Live, said: “We’ve been tracking the Aaron Ramsey curse for some time and, like many, couldn’t believe it when both David Bowie and Alan Rickman tragically passed away within 24 hours of Ramsey goals. The Arsenal player’s goals seemingly took two national treasures in just one week, so after one of our top customers tweeted us and asked if we would cover it, we started thinking about who could be next.”
He added: “We put together a list of possible celebrities and co-launched the Ramsey’s Rampage microsite, which lists some celebrities and Ramsey’s apparent victims so far. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Welshman’s curse continues and I’m sure a few top celebrities could be wincing every time he strikes or heads a ball towards goal.”