WWE is in talks with state gambling regulators to legalize betting on high-profile matches.
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If WWE succeeds in its bid to legalize gambling on matches, it could open the door for legalized betting on other guarded, secret scripted events, such as future character deaths in TV series.
Allowing gambling on certain WWE matches would alter how matches are produced – and how storylines are created. In discussions about how gambling on wrestling could work, WWE executives have proposed that scripted results of matches be locked in months ahead of time, according to people familiar with the matter. The wrestlers themselves wouldn’t know whether they were winning or losing until shortly before a match takes place, said the people.
For example, the WWE could lock the results of Wrestlemania’s main event months ahead of time, based on a scripted storyline that hinged to the winner of January’s Royal Rumble. Betting on the match could then take place between the end of the Royal Rumble and up to days or even hours before Wrestlemania, when the wrestlers and others in the show’s production would learn the results.
The introduction of legalized gambling could give WWE an increased appeal to a new set of fans while significantly altering creative storylines. Paul Levesque, whose wrestling name is Triple H, took over as head of WWE’s creative operations from Vince McMahon in July. McMahon stepped down as WWE chairman and CEO last year amid sexual misconduct allegations but returned to the WWE board in January as executive chairman to prepare the company for a sale process.
WWE is set to meet with potential buyers for the company next month in preparation for first-round bids, two of the people said. There’s no assurance a transaction will take place.