Game of Thrones season 8: The betting odds on who rules and who dies
The Iron Throne seems within the grasp of a brave few, but surely many will perish before then. A few sites hope your wallet will be among the casualties.
- Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
A few of the favorites to win the Game of Thrones
If you're the gambling sort, this might be the perfect time to place your bet on who will win the Game of Thrones since we now know when the final season of the HBO hit series will premiere.
While season 8 starts April 14, betting has already been taking place for some time. At the conclusion of season 7 all the way back in 2017, the odds at one betting website favored Westeros' most desirable bastard, Jon Snow.
Since the below teaser dropped Sunday, featuring heir Snow and his Stark half-sisters, he remains the odds-on favorite at online sportsbooks like MyBookie and BetOnline as of midday Monday.
But the UK's BoyleSports is rating Bran Stark as the most likely future king, with even (50/50) odds.
"We now know the date that Game of Thrones will be back on our screens and that alone has triggered a renewed interest in our betting on who will rule Westeros," said BoyleSports spokesperson Lawrence Lyons in an emailed statement.
At No. 2 on BoyleSports' list of most likely monarchs is the presumably soon-to-be-introduced child of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, then it's Jon and Dany themselves in a tie for third most likely victor.
Lyons also notes that the odds have been moving to favor a possible reign of Tyrion Lannister, who is now an 8-to-1 bet.
Interestingly, MyBookie has the Night King and Arya Stark tied for fourth most likely to sit on the throne, behind Jon, Dany and Bran.
MyBookie and BetOnline also offer wagers on who will be the first to die this season. There's agreement that odds are on poor Yara Greyjoy to be the initial casualty of the season.
If you want a prediction market that's more for fun than profit, the free access Game of Predictions site and its several hundred or so users overwhelming believe that "there won't be an Iron Throne" at the end of the series. That's the choice of over 51 percent of users, followed by Sansa Stark, Jon and Dany as potential throne-sitters.
Of course, the overall winner of this several year odyssey seems completely obvious to me: HBO was always the only house (box office) guaranteed to survive and thrive since the show started. All the rest are mere pawns in the network's game... as are we.
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