UK Bookmaker William Hill has just taken what could be its biggest political bet ever, accepting a £400,000 ($670,000) wager that Scotland would vote ‘no’ on its independence referendum in September.
The Guardian reported that a man from Surrey came into a William Hill branch in South-West London bearing a banker’s draft for £400,000 to bet on 1/4 odds that Scotland’s independence referendum would go down to defeat. If he’s successful, the man stands to win a profit of £100,000 ($167,000).
Betting on such low odds can be a huge gamble, but recent opinion polls indicate 61 percent intended to vote against independence. By contrast, support for a yes vote has dropped to just 18 percent, down from 22 percent. The numbers suggest it might not be such a huge gamble for the man from Surrey, still it’s a pretty significant bet to make to win just a quarter of the amount you’re staking.
The bet caught the attention of William Hill, which already has a £200,000 ($335,000) bet on a no vote on the line. Shortly after taking this even bigger wager, the bookmaker told the Guardian of its plan to cut odds on a no vote to just 1/5 while also increasing odds of a yes vote from 11/4 to 10/3.
If anything, William Hill is milking the publicity generated by these insane wagers. The nearly £1 million ($1.67 million) wagered on this outcome makes the prop one of the biggest political betting events outside of the U.S. Presidential race.
