Having a flutter on the new iPhone

Fancy a flutter on the next version of the iPhone? Online bookmaker Sportsbet.com.au has created a market on when the next version of the Jesus phone will arrive, what sort of camera it will have, and even what it will be called.

According to Sportsbet spokesman Shaun Anderson, the last time the bookie ran bets on the next iPhone, somewhere between fifty and a hundred people took a plunge.

“It’s a limited market,” Anderson told CRN. “We limit bets to around $100, so it’s not huge.”

The reason Sportsbet limits the market is because of the possibility someone has knowledge of the new phone that the bookie doesn’t have. If the market wasn’t limited, someone with insider insight could make a massive wager and clean up.

Sportsbet has a price of $2 against the next iPhone arriving in September, with January 2014 or later priced at $13. Considering Apple tends to unveil its new iPhones in the third quarter, the initial price offered looks to be spot on.

The other question is what the new device will be called. The smart money is on it being iPhone 5S, at $1.30, with iPhone 6 an outside chance at $4.

The betting market is also suggesting the iPhone 5S – or whatever it will be called – will be packing a 13 megapixel camera. Taking a punt on that spec will cost $1.50, while betting Apple doesn’t upgrade the camera – keeping it at 8 megapixels – costs $21.

“These sort of markets are a bit of a novelty – a bit of fun,” said Anderson.

What is certain is Apple will introduce a new iPhone this year. But if you’re keen to roll a bit of lucre on the device, then Sportsbet has it covered.