(Image Credit: AP Photo)

The odds makers at Paddy Power are courting controversy by taking bets on the premeditated murder verdict at Oscar Pistorius' murder trial.

The Dublin based betting house is offering a "money back special" if Pistorius, 27, is acquitted in the shooting death of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's night 2013.

The current odds are 4/11 that the amputee track star will be found guilty of premeditated murder, meaning a $4 bet would yield an $11 payday.

PHOTOS: Tense Start to Oscar Pistorius' Murder Trial

Not everyone is willing to put their money on the line, though.

A Change.org petition that has been signed by more than 23,000 people calls the betting opportunity "vile and offensive."

"Reeva Steenkamp was a young woman brutally murdered and her parents are grieving still. Her death is not and should never be a source of entertainment or profit," a letter to Paddy Power CEO Patrick Kennedy says.

A spokesperson for Paddy Power, which has previously offered bets on everything from the papal election to sports matches, told the Irish Independent it was a chance to measure public opinion.

"This is the biggest profile trial that has ever been. It's the only topic of conversation around the world," the spokesperson said. "It's to provide customers with the opportunity to bet on something that everyone is talking to."

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