MoD asked to intervene in alien bet

09-08-2010

A gambler from Beeston, Leeds placed a 100-1 wager with Ladbrokes that ‘extraterrestrials would be detected on earth (dead or alive) in the 21st century’. The punter placed his bet in 1990 as part of dual ‘paired’ wager on the 1990 football World Cup. He placed his €2,41 bet on Germany becoming world champion at 6/1 with the Ladbrokes Lower Briggate shop in Leeds. His €14,46 winnings, the original bet and his €3,61 alien wager were totaled up. His €20,48 wager would reward him €2.047,95, if aliens were found.

Ladbrokes wager

The punter contacted the bookmaker in April 1999 concerning the status of this wager. However, Ladbrokes didn’t pay out and stated that the time frame determined in his wager had not passed. The US source of genuineness had not verified the existence of extraterrestrials. For that reason, the punter contacted the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He requested the ministry to support his claim, which was redirected to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Alien bet

The Ministry of Defence later declared that they were open-minded with regard to aliens. Nevertheless, the MoD could not verify its existence. “The Ministry of Defence has no evidence that demonstrates the existence of extraterrestrials. In our opinion, your wager should not be upheld,” the MoD declared. It remains unclear if the wager was paid out. The bookmaker stated that the bet was never paid out.