Betfair signs-up PoliticalBetting.com founder in UK election push
Mike Smithson to help devise new political betting markets as firm also releases General Election prediction app
Betfair has hired political betting blogger Mike Smithson and launched a dedicated prediction app as the operator ramps up its political betting offer ahead of the UK General Election in May.
Former Liberal Democrat politician Smithson, the founder of popular blog PoliticalBetting.com, has been hired on a consultancy basis by Betfair with a remit to devise a range of new betting propositions for the forthcoming election.
Smithson has also started to contribute articles to the operator’s Betting.Betfair.com blog and via its devoted General Election site BetfairPredicts.com, which was released on the Apple App Store on Wednesday.
The app, which was built in conjunction with digital agency Grand Parade, was unveiled at a launch event in Westminster earlier this week and uses Betfair’s latest exchange prices to predict the outcome of the election and the 650 constituencies.
Betfair’s exchange has gained a reputation for providing a more accurate indication of election outcomes than pollsters. Last year its market implied a ‘no’ vote in the Scottish Referendum was an 80% chance, despite the polls being neck-and-neck, leading it to confidently pay out its fixed-odds customers ahead of polling day.
“Betting markets have an impressive track record of predicting outcomes and Betfair is offering its most comprehensive range of markets ever for those looking to get involved,” James Midmer, Betfair political spokesperson, said.
“This is the tightest election for years and people will want as much insight as they can get,” he added.
Betfair said it expects to see more than £40m matched on its General Election betting markets, double the amount traded on last year’s Scottish Referendum, while millions more will be staked via its fixed-odds sportsbook product.
In its recent Q3 results, Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran said the close nature of the General Election would help boost betting numbers and that Betfair boasted the “go-to platform for those either wishing to have a bet on, or understand the most likely outcome of, the election”.