ELECTION SPECIAL
ROUND TABLE:
THE RISE OF
POLITICAL BETTING
This year’s General Election is shaping up to be the UK gambling industry’s biggest ever non-sporting
event in wagering terms. We gathered Ed Fulton of Sporting Index, Matthew Shaddick of Ladbrokes,
Graham Sharpe of William Hill and Dale Tempest of Sky Bet to discuss political betting’s coming of age.
How much more has been traded/
wagered overall on this election compared
to the last, and how many times larger do
you see this being come Election Day?
Ed Fulton: The interest in spread betting
on this General Election is reaching
unprecedented levels, and there are weeks
still to go before polling day. When it’s all
said and done, we expect to take three to
four times more bets than in 2010.
Matthew Shaddick: It looks like we are
running at about 2.5 times the levels in
2010 and expect that to continue until
polling day.
Graham Sharpe: We anticipate at least
doubling our turnover from the last
General Election this time round.
Dale Tempest: The 2015 Election will
dwarf 2010 for the whole industry. Despite
taking into account our significant growth
as a company during the 2010-2015 period,
Sky Bet would expect to see a massive
increase in stakes, somewhere in the region
of a 1,000% rise from 2010 levels. As a
company, we are expecting to see 85% of the
total stakes placed in the seven days prior to
the polls opening on May 7, but already at
this early stage we have seen a large increase
in both stakes and bets placed.
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The election is looking too close to call,
but what other factors (i.e. social media,
blogging) are driving betting and trading
volumes above 2010 levels?
Ed Fulton: The past few General
Elections have been pretty clear in terms
of which party would ‘win’ months ahead
now the full time head of politics and have
been since January 2014.
Graham Sharpe: The Scottish referendum
proved to be a pleasant surprise when
betting turnover far exceeded what had
been anticipated. William Hill alone took
“Sky Bet expects to see a massive increase in stakes,
somewhere in the region of a 1,000% rise from 2010 levels.”
Dale Tempest, Sky Bet
of time, limiting the appeal, though our
spread markets on the precise number
of seats won and lost always appeal.
However, the 2015 GE is on a knife-edge,
and with so many different outcomes
possible, there is something for everyone
in our betting markets. Additionally, there
is much more information available to
punters. Social media, blogs and a huge
increase in polling by various outlets
means the public feel more informed and
confident enough to challenge the bookies.
Matthew Shaddick: Yes, all of those
things! I think the betting industry have
done a good job in making more people
aware of the possibilities and markets
available. We certainly take this much
more seriously as a product - hence I’m
in excess of £3.25m. We are hopeful that
this outstanding result, together with
the unprecedented open nature of this
General Election, will stimulate betting
interest amongst those who have previously
regarded it as a dull two horse-race.
Dale Tempest: There is now a far greater
focus from bookmakers on offering a wide
range of both novelty and mainstream
political markets, driven mainly by
customer deman