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An Australian betting agency on Thursday paid out early on bets that opposition leader Tony Abbott would win parliamentary elections in just over a week’s time.
It is the first early pay-out in Australian federal election history.
Sportsbet said it had paid out on the A$1.5 million ($1.3 million) it has taken since January for Abbott’s conservatives to topple Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party.
“For us, if we get this wrong and Labor wins, it’s a $1.5 million decision,” spokesman Haydn Lane said.
Sportsbet has Abbott on odds of 1.03 to win, meaning a A$100 bet would earn only a A$3 profit. Rudd, in contrast, is priced at 11.50, meaning a punter would get A$10.50 for every dollar wagered.
Lane said Abbott’s candidates were favourites in 90 of the 150 electorates compared with Labor expected to win in 56 electorates at the September 7 ballot.
Every major poll since the last election in 2010 has had Abbott in front. In the most recent poll, Abbott’s coalition sits on 53 per cent of the vote with Labor on 47 per cent.
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