Election Punters Betting on Change of Government

Election Punters Betting on Change of Government

SYDNEY, Sept. 14 2005

Centrebet punters are backing Don Brash to replace Helen Clark as New Zealand prime minister. Election betting agency Centrebet reports that punters have bet more money on National (1.85 from 2.70) in the past 48 hours than they did in the first seven weeks of the official campaign.

"The smartest election punters wait until the final few days before betting and they're backing Brash for the top job," says Centrebet's Gerard Daffy. "Clark should be worried, very worried."

Centrebet specialises in election betting and there is evidence to support its claim that its odds are more accurate than polls. Stanford University's Justin Wolfers and Andrew Leigh, of Harvard, found that Centrebet's odds on the 2001 Australian Federal Election not only forecast the overall result correctly but also provided precise estimates of outcomes in more than 40 electorates.

Wolfers (http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/jwolfers) and Leigh (http://andrewleigh.com) also praised the accuracy of Centrebet's betting odds on last year's Australian Federal Election.

Centrebet has taken more than $400,000 in bets on the New Zealand General Election.

Log on to http://www.centrebet.com to view its latest odds.

ENDS

© Scoop Media