The concept of betting on a baby’s arrival certainly isn’t new (we’ve probably all participated in an office pool or baby guessing game at a baby shower before), but bringing it online is a fun way to involve everyone and share the exciting news and relevant stats once the baby is born.
Through sites like BabyHunch, BabyBookie, and BabyBety, expecting parents can embrace their love of gambling and set up a pool where their co-workers, family, and friends can make guesses about the baby’s birthdate, gender, and other birth details.
How Baby Betting Sites Work
Each site offers slight variations in items to bet on. Some get as specific as hair and eye color, while others keep it to the basics: baby's arrival date, weight, length, baby's gender, etc. They all keep track of the score and calculate the winner for you in the end, which is a good thing since the LAST thing any new parent should be doing after giving birth is figuring out who edged out everyone with their birth weight guess.
How the Top Baby Pool Sites Compare
Some are just for fun, and some are set up to help expecting parents financially by allowing participants to wager money with each guess. While there are several sites available, here are a few of the most commonly used, as well as some key features:
Baby Hunch:
🟢 Free
🟢 Users don't have to sign up
🟢 Can accommodate twins or triplets
🔴 Is a bit basic looking
Baby Hunch is a free online platform that allows users to host a Baby Pool, or Baby Guessing Game, for friends and family to participate in guessing various details about an upcoming baby, such as the birthdate, gender, weight, and more.
Participants submit their guesses, referred to as "hunches," without needing to create an account, making the process user-friendly.
BabyHunch can accommodate pools for multiple babies, such as twins or triplets. The game includes a scoring system to determine winners based on the accuracy of their guesses.
Baby Bookie:
🟢 Free
🟢 Nice looking
🟢 Cool scoring system
🔴 Need separate pools for twins and triplets
Simply enter details about the upcoming baby and customize your pool. Then, invite family and friends to place their bets on the baby's arrival date, sex, weight, and length. As the due date approaches, participants can track their predictions and see how they compare against others.
Baby Bookie does not accept monetary bets. However, they recommend asking pool participants to send money via PayPal or Venmo if you want to add a cash prize or collect donations. You can do this in the pool description when you set up a new pool.
You do have to sign up with an email if you want to bet, but you can place additional bets under the same email address. This means people who don’t have email addresses (such as children) can still participate in the pool.
Once the baby arrives, a winner is declared using a scoring system, and the pool host can share a personalized virtual announcement to celebrate the arrival with everyone.
BabyBety:
(Currently not accepting new pools)
🟢 Can accept money
🔴 Takes a percentage of the bets
🔴 Not accepting new pools
This is one of the sites that allows for a money pool. It can be an awesome way to raise some extra moolah for a college fund, medical bills, diapers, or, ya know, life in general. While it is free to set up an account, the site does take a cut of the winnings, which is something to keep in mind.
Setting up an online baby pool with BabyBety is straightforward; hosts simply register, enter details about the baby and the event, and verify their account to start collecting predictions and donations. The platform makes it easy to track guesses and donations, with features to help determine the winners after the baby is born.
The pool administrator can manage and close the pool post-delivery, with donations going directly to their PayPal or Venmo account.
Right now, BabyBety isn't accepting new pools. The site is still up, so I'm not sure if they are on hiatus or if some guy in IT took off to the Caymans with all the baby pool money. Time will tell.
To Sum Up Baby Betting Websites
Betting on a baby's arrival has evolved from informal office pools and baby shower games to online platforms, making it easy for family and friends to join in on the fun.
BabyHunch provides a user-friendly experience without account requirements and can accommodate multiple births.
BabyBookie has a sleek design and automatically calculates scores for a seamless experience, ensuring that new parents can focus on their arrival rather than the logistics of the pool.
Babybety seems to bet offline but time will tell. It sounds like if you want to bet with money, you're better off doing it through your own Venmo, PayPal, or envelope in a desk drawer anyway.
Let me know what your experience with these sites has been.
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