SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Bookmakers William Hill have cut their odds for a Yes vote in the Scottish Referendum, after last night’s live debate between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling.
A snap ballot by the Guardian/ICM found that 71 per cent of those polled said the first minister won the contest, reversing a 56 per cent defeat in the first TV debate on August 5th.
“From 11/2 down to 5/1 and now to 9/2 [currently 4/1], the Yes vote has picked up momentum of late, and we expect the gap to narrow even more as we approach polling day,” said spokesman Graham Sharpe.
Hills say more than three quarters of the bets struck in their shops have been for Yes, but some 60 per cent of online and mobile bets are for No.
However, with two clients alone accounting for £800,000 of bets on a No vote, the company are facing a hefty payout for that outcome.
“We’d like to take a little more cash for a Yes vote to balance our book, and if the vote were to go that way we’d almost certainly be able to claim we’d got off Scot free!” he added.
