Who will sit on the Iron Throne? GOT betting

UPDATE 11/04:

Subscribers over at /r/GameOfThrones are being asked who they think will sit on the Iron Throne, and the numbers definitely make for some interesting reading! Cloudbet are offering Game of Thrones betting (with bitcoin) so by turning the Reddit 'votes' into a proxy for odds, we can compare the wisdom of the crowd to our official odds!

Since publishing there's also been some big movements in the odds, with Sansa moving closer to the front of the pack at 7.46, and Gendry has dropped to just 5.24.

UPDATE 01/04: Hurry up - you can still win big and predict who will rule over Westeros. Our Game of Thrones lines were extended - the new deadline is April 14th.

Let’s take a look at the odds for Game of Thrones bitcoin betting, the front runners to claim the Iron Throne, and some of our favourite underdogs that could surprise people. GoT is famous for not sparing anyone - good, bad, living or dead - so pretty much everyone has a chance to reign, right? That is great for bettors, and can make the season finale a lot more exciting.

That said, bettors need to hurry up: bets on Game of Thrones can only be placed until April 1st, 2019, before the last season starts - after this date, all betting lines will be frozen until the end. And that's no April Fool's, so get your theories out and read on.

WARNING: Potential Spoilers ahead

What is going on in Westeros?

So the time has come, winter is finally here, and the Night King is marching on the denizens of Westeros. Can the leaders of the living put aside their squabbles to face an external threat, or will ol’ blue eyes sweep them aside and claim the Iron Throne? Despite its terribly non-ergonomic design, there are plenty of competitors for the last round of this bloody musical chairs match. But what do the odds tell us?

Things aren’t looking too good for the living right now. At the end of season seven the Night King acquired a shiny new toy in the form of Viserion, one of Daenarys’ dragons resurrected after falling in the final battle of the Wight Hunt. The Night King proceeded to use his new flame-spitting WMD to bring down a large portion of the Wall, allowing the army of White Walkers to spread south into Westeros.

Right now the resistance is being helmed by three major players - everyone's favourite know-nothing and ‘King in the North’ Jon Snow (or Aegon Targaryen to use his full name - it’s a long story); Daenerys Targaryen, mother of Dragons, breaker of chains, and semi-incestuous lover of Snow (cut ‘em some slack, they don’t know yet!); and current Queen and card-carrying member of the bat shit crazy club Cersei Lannister, who’s madness and cruelty reached new heights last season after the death of her children and rejection by Jamie Lannister.

The Good

One of the ‘good guys’ that hasn’t received a mention yet is Bran Stark, newly crowned Three-Eyed Raven and current bookies favourite for claiming the Iron Throne at the end of the series (2.65). Perhaps one of the reasons he hasn’t been featured in more fan theories is his noticeable absence from most of the recent events in Westeros, but now that he’s back on the scene, expect the young lad with the big powers to play a significant role in the events of season eight (as long as he doesn’t turn out to be the Night King himself!).

Jon Snow is another obvious front-runner for the Iron Throne (3.34). He’s already been crowned as King in the North, and with his hidden past as a Targaryen unveiled to the audience he’s looking like a fairly safe bet. Unfortunately ‘safe’ in Game of Thrones is a fleeting concept, and many a character has been built up only to be knocked down prematurely. Be wary of large bets on this one.

We can’t talk about the ‘good’ without a look at Daenerys Targaryen as a potential winner of the Iron Throne (4.95). She’s come a long way since that scared little orphan living in exile in Essos, and has battled through every trial and obstacle dropped in her way. She’s here to ‘break the wheel’ and reclaim her birthright, and she’s made a lot of strong allies on her journey back to Westeros. Now paired with Jon Snow, this young Targaryen power couple (Jodan? Daon? Jonerys?) certainly have the power and lineage to rule - as long as there’s still a kingdom to run after the invasion of White Walkers from beyond the Wall of course.

The Bad

Topping off our list of bad bastards willing to scam and kill their way to the Iron Throne is a fairly obvious choice - the Night King (12.4). He’s already loose south of the Wall and has a powerful array of wights at his disposal (and now a dragon… thanks Dany…) but our blue eyed boy is going to face some strong competition from those mentioned above. Many have doubted that the series will end with such a grim conclusion (after all, the Night King gaining the throne probably means everyone else is dead) but looking back at scenes like the Red Wedding or the death of Oberyn Martell, it’s not inconceivable that the showrunners will slip a final dagger into the hearts of the fandom.

Cersei Lannister, Queen of mean and current holder of the Iron throne, is doing everything she can to scheme her way to coming out of the current crisis smelling of roses (20.1) but is slowly eroding her own support through increasingly erratic and cruel actions (blowing up the Sept of Baelor and levelling half of King’s Landing springs to mind) not to mention losing a large portion of her army after the Battle of the Goldroad. She made clear her plans to betray the combined forces of the living at the end of season seven, and claims the Golden Company are on their way to support her. Cersei’s future on the Iron Throne will depend on her ability to beat whichever force comes out of the battle for the North alive (and avoid Jamie and Tyrion if the ‘Valonqar’ prophecy comes to pass).

The Ugly

Now we should probably state in advance that these people aren't ‘ugly’ per se, but due to the fact they have been dead for a while, we’re assuming their current physical state varies somewhere between ‘rotting’ and ‘human soup’.

That said, there’s plenty of examples of resurrection in the Game of Thrones universe, Beric Dondarrion has returned countless times with the aid of Thoros, and Jon Snow was brought back to the world of the living by Melisandre, so it wouldn’t be a complete shock to see one of the following characters making an appearance in season eight.

Out of all the ‘dead’ characters listed in our Game of Thrones bitcoin betting odds, Petyr Baelish is current favourite (10.4), which isn’t entirely due to his recently deceased status compared to the others. Reddit user /u/MrSilenceT posted an interesting theory - could he have been replaced by one of the faceless before Arya’s blade fell? If so then there’s a big chance we will see the return of Littlefinger and the culmination of his plans. Wheels within wheels.

There’s another common theory passed around between the fandom, “If we didn’t see them die, they might not be really dead”. Take Stannis Baratheon (114.0) for example, we saw him injured and exhausted after the battle against Ramsay Bolton, and can assume from the scene that Brienne of Tarth executed him for the death of her beloved Renly Baratheon, but the camera cuts before the final blow falls. Would Brienne kill a defenceless man in cold blood? George R. R. Martin doesn’t think so, but the TV show’s writers have been known to take a different direction to the books. Only time will tell with this one, but we aren’t holding our breath when it comes to a return from Stan the man.

Now be honest, who wouldn’t like to see a Resurrected Ned Stark coming back to seek vengeance and claim the Iron Throne? (182.0) Unfortunately the current odds reflect the fact that this one isn’t too likely, but there is a chance we could see some deceased Starks return again in some form. You see the Night King and his army has a nasty habit of reanimating the dead to bolster their ranks, and they are currently approaching Winterfell, where the Stark family crypts are housed (and where the season eight teaser trailer was focused). Will Arya, Sansa, and Jon have to face an undead Catelyn Stark?

Our Picks

The odds are painting a clear picture that one of the main players will claim the Iron Throne, but there’s some other characters sitting just behind the favourites in the odds table that might have some value for bitcoin betting. Tyrion Lannister (8.43) for example is close to Daenerys Targaryen, and could even be considered her second in command. If Dany falls, who will the Dothraki and Unsullied look to for leadership? There’s even a theory that Tyrion is a secret Targaryen, fathered by the mad king Aerys himself, which would certainly explain why Rhaegal and Viserion didn’t flash fry the tasty Halfman when he entered the dragon pit to free them.

There’s also Gendry (7.30), a character who’s lack of screen time is made up for by his parental lineage. As a bastard son of Robert Baratheon he has some royal heritage, and could have a huge part to play in season eight - it’s been heavily hinted that he could have the blacksmithing skills needed to create Valyrian steel blades, something that could prove vital in turning back the tide of White Walkers threatening the living of Westeros.

The favourites are still a great choice for bitcoin betting as the odds are still relatively high while we await more teasers and the start of the new season (April 14th), but if you are looking for real value, we’d recommend one of the outliers above.

Check out the full odds for Game of Thrones Bitcoin Betting here.

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