SPORTSBET PAYS OUT ELECTION BETS EARLY – AND PAYS OUT AGAIN ON ELECTION DAY

The bookies at Sportsbet were so confident of a Labor election win that they paid out on the bets two days before the election. The $1.3 million paid out on bets for a Labor win, were added to the payouts for the punters backing an LNP win on the weekend, making it an expensive error by Sportsbet.

Earlier in the week the odds for a Labor win were $1.17 with the LNP closer to $6.00. Over 70% of the betting pool was in favour of a Labor victory, prompting the early payouts

Although from a marketing perspective it worked!

Several funny tweets at their own expense on the weekend followed, with Sportsbet, in true Aussie style, taking it on the chin.

Lucky for Ladbrokes they weren’t as confident and waited for the election results before paying out. With one punter making a $1 million bet on a Labor election win (the largest in their history) that’s probably a wise move!