Poll results: Paddy Power Betfair best placed to benefit from snap election

Paddy Power Betfair is best placed to take advantage of this summer’s General Election, according to 45% of respondents to this week’s poll.

The group’s success will stem primarily from the Betfair Exchange which has become widely touted as the market’s best predictor of the outcome of political events, even if the market has got it spectacularly wrong in recent months.

As a result of all the publicity the Exchange receives during major events, both Brexit and then the US election set record amounts traded, with more than £200m matched on the US election.

Paddy Power has also done well from recent political events, gaining notoriety for paying out early on Hillary to win the US election, while also using Trump as a launchpad for various stunts.

And readers appear to be vindicated by early reports that close to £1m had been matched on the UK election in the 48 hours after it was announced.

Ladbrokes was the second-most popular choice among respondents, with 30% of the vote, with the bookie having been pushing its political betting product in recent years.

The firm even has a full-time head of political betting in the shape of Matthew Shaddick, who is a regular on political debate shows, and frequently appears on panels offering the bookies’ take on upcoming elections.

Just 15% thought Sporting Index was best-placed to prosper, despite the fact that punters might be inclined to look towards more niche markets thanks to the one-sided odds on the main outcome.

The ‘Other’ option received just 10% of the vote.