- Australians bet hundreds of millions of dollars on the race
- In 2021, punters spent over $200 million on the Cup
- The bookmaker now holds more money on different events
The Melbourne Cup has long been the benchmark for events Australians love to bet on – but one bookmaker has discovered there’s a new challenger for that crown.
BlueBet executive chairman Michael Sullivan has revealed that the punting industry will hold more money from the Voice to Parliament referendum result than from the race that stops a nation.
The outcome of the clash between the Yes and No campaigns is also attracting more money from punters than the megabucks from Sydney’s Everest Spring Carnival, according to the Today’s telegraph.
Jockey Mark Zahra (centre) celebrates with owners David Eustace (left) and Ciaron Maher (right) after Gold Trip won last year’s Melbourne Cup
Australians are famous for betting huge sums on the race that stops a nation – but one bookmaker says the event has a new punting rival (pictured, Gold Trip wins 2022 Melbourne Cup)
BlueBet is currently offering odds of $5.65 for yes, and $1.11 for no, which is consistent with current opinion polls predicting the latter to win in the October 14 referendum.
Bidding for the Melbourne Cup peaked in 2020, when Australians bet $221.6 million on the race – a sure sign that spending on the Voice referendum is substantial.
BlueBet is the only major bookmaker offering odds on the referendum result, with Ladbrokes, Betr, Sportsbet, Neds and Betfair all passing up the opportunity.
The development was welcomed by independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie, who said: “Such events are too important to be treated like a football match.
The odds on the referendum result place the No vote as the clear favorite – reflecting polling which shows the Yes vote slipping badly (pictured, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with AFL great Michael Long and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney)
“The privileged access political insiders enjoy to polls and other research gives them an unfair advantage over other punters.”
Support for the Indigenous voice in Parliament has fallen to new lows in recent polls, with every state except Tasmania poised to vote ‘no’.
The most recent Resolve Political Monitor survey, released September 11, showed that 43 percent of voters supported a plan to include an indigenous voice in the constitution, a drop of 20 percentage points from the previous survey. last year.
Over the past month, the percentage of voters sure to vote “no” increased from 33 percent to 37 percent, while the percentage of those who say they will likely vote “no” remains unchanged at 12 percent .
The shadow minister for Aboriginal Australia, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (photo), was one of the leading figures in the No campaign, which proved very effective.
The poll had 16 percent of voters undecided.
The percentage of Australians in favor of the referendum has fallen for the fifth consecutive month. This is also the third month in a row that the “no” vote is ahead.
Since the last survey, Victoria has moved to a majority ‘no’ state, leaving Tasmania the only jurisdiction remaining in the ‘yes’ camp.
For this vote to succeed, the “Yes” campaign will require more than 50 percent of the vote across the country and in four of the six states.
