SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
A Portuguese punter lays 700 bets on a No vote in the Scottish Referendum, as Yes wagers surge by 80%
With the betting interest in the outcome of the Scottish Referendum reaching unprecedented levels, one William Hill customer is so convinced that the NO option will triumph that he has bet on that happening…700 times.
Not only that, but the man lives in Portugal and has never even been to Scotland.
He placed his first online bet in April and has since made 699 more, laying out a total of €3283 (£2634), in the expectation of receiving back €3757 (£3014).
“The Portuguese punter is in his thirties and has absolutely no links to Scotland, but he says he is confident he is on to a winning system,” said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe, adding, “I have worked for the company for over 40 years but cannot recall any customer ever staking 700 bets on a single proposition.
“The volume of betting has taken us completely by surprise. One customer has staked £800,000 on a NO vote, another £200,000. We now expect the betting turnover on the Referendum, already a record for any political event, to exceed the last General, and US Presidential Elections combined. The closer we move to polling day the greater the betting interest seems to be. At the moment we are seeing over 80% of the bets we are taking being placed on a Yes vote- a trend which began after the second tv debate.”
