A lot of people probably have very sore heads after the election on Saturday, but there’s one guy out there who is probably hurting a whole lot more.
According to SBS, a man bet $1 million on Labor winning the election, which was the biggest bet in Ladbrokes’ history. The last record-making bet was $370,000 on racehorse Winx.
When the man made the bet earlier this month, Labor’s odds were sitting at $1.23, while the Coalition was at $4.50.
Jason Scott, Ladbrokes Australia Chief Executive said at the time, “We’ve obviously seen some sizable bets come through in recent times, many of them on Winx, but clearly this gentleman thinks the Labor Party is a safer bet than the now retired mighty mare.”
While the anonymous man, who’s believed to be from NSW, might be feeling sorry for himself today, Sportsbet is probably also feeling a little sheepish.
The betting agency was so confident Labor would win at the polls, they paid out the bets on Bill Shorten to win two days before the majority of the nation could even vote on Saturday.
EARLY PAYOUT! LABOR WIN…
We’ve paid out early on Labor to win the Federal Election. #ausvotes19 pic.twitter.com/2hdpV8SPDl— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) May 15, 2019
Speaking with News.Com.Au on Thursday, a spokesperson said, “With punters so confident, Sportsbet has today paid out early on all bets placed on Labor to win Saturday’s vote. Over $1.3 million has been paid out to punters who had a flutter on Labor. Labor have attracted several large wagers including one savvy punter who walks away with over $128,000 before a vote has been counted …”
Same as the bookie who paid out early on Labor ??? https://t.co/NmBvDd3bGY
— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) May 18, 2019
Seven out of ten bets were reportedly for Labor to win the election, which is why Sportsbet decided to pay out early, saying, “Punters rarely get it wrong on elections.”
So, let’s hold our heads up high, things could have been much worse…