Irish Bookmaker Taking Bets On Street Fighter IV Fight

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power is testing the video game gambling waters by taking bets on an upcoming Super Street Fighter IV battle featuring two of the world's top players. On Thursday, European Street Fighter IV champion Ryan Hart and contender Femi Adeboye will go head-to-head in the fighting game, and bookmaker Paddy Power is taking wagers on the winner of the overall competition, how many seconds the fastest knockout round will take and the overall win-loss match results. The two Street Fighter IV masters will play for the best of three matches, with Hart as the three-to-one favorite. Paddy Power, Ireland's largest bookmaker, isn't totally new to video game gambling -- it's the same company that took bets in previous years on what the top-selling game would be in the UK. In 2009, it paid out early when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the runaway victor. "Video games are as much a legitimate sport as any other," the company said. "We wanted to offer sports fans and games players the ultimate thrill by offering the chance to win big on the outcome of a Super Street Fighter IV competition. If it proves popular, we'll open further books on other videogame competitions." Street Fighter publisher Capcom is completely on board. Capcom UK PR manager Leo Tan said that Paddy Power's move to take bets is a "huge step for videogames." "Hopefully this is the start of a new avenue for bookmakers, a new way for games players to enjoy their games and, potentially, a new way for the elite players to get the recognition they deserve," he said. The fight will be broadcast on Paddy Power's website, which is currently taking bets on the event.