China’s Taobao.com cracks down on prop bets disguised as ‘insurance’ policies

Vendors on China’s popular Taobao online marketplace have been told to stop offering ‘insurance’ policies that appear to violate the country’s gambling laws.

Earlier this week, the Chinese-language Legal Mirror quoted a Taobao spokesman saying the platform was “paying close attention to ensure imaginative ideas are not being improperly presented by sellers.”

These imaginative ideas included ‘insurance’ policies on intangible items, including how long it will be before breakup queen Taylor Swift breaks up with her current squeeze Tom Hiddleston, with payouts promised to customers whose ‘policies’ matched the eventual duration of the Swift-Hiddleston pairing.

Other vendors offered policies on similar celebrity questions, including whether certain singers would win a Grammy Award next year or whether certain television series would be renewed for another season … Basically, things you’d find in the novelty prop betting section of most online sportsbooks.