Brexit is the biggest political betting event in UK

Over £40.5 million (U$ 59.49 million) has been bet so far on the outcome of the EU referendum.

UK.- According to Betfair, £40.5 million (U$ 59.49 million) has already been gambled on the Betfair Exchange on the referendum. The amount was equally split between backers and layers.

These numbers mean that at this point, Brexit has beaten the Scottish independence referendum to become the most bet upon political event in British history. Of course a spike in gambling is anticipated on Thursday as most punters wait until the last minute to decide to bet.

“We are expecting to see a big flurry of betting on Thursday, that’s what happened in the Scottish independence referendum,” said Graham Sharpe, William Hill spokesman. “There is a growing appetite for betting in politics – the Scottish independence referendum showed us that. We saw a similar phenomenon in the general election, the Labour leadership and the London mayor. It has spread from a niche market with people in the Westminster bubble the main clients seeking bets; now there is much more interest, people feel much more connected to this event.”

“With just three days left until the vote the Betfair market momentum is now all behind remain, which was backed as low as 1/5 this morning, with one customer backing it to the tune of £100,000 (US$146,892),” explained Naomi Totten, Betfair spokeswoman.“This market continues to mimic the pattern of the Scottish referendum, where historical confidence in the eventual ‘no’ vote slipped slightly 10 days before referendum day only to resettle in the week of the vote.”

Sharpe added that so far 66 percent of all the money staked on the EU referendum has been placed on remain, but 69 percent of all individual bets placed are for leave.