Not overly optimistic
UK sportsbooks are not too bullish on the incoming UK Prime Minster Liz Truss having a long tenure. William Hill believes that Truss’ reign will be shorter than that of Theresa May, who spent 1,106 days in 10 Downing Street.
The Conservative Party announced on Monday that truss had won 57% of the party members’ votes in the race to replace outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Her main rival was the recent Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.
we’re not totally ruling out her serving the shortest reign in history at 50/1”
Speaking to Bloomberg, a William Hill spokesperson outlined the sportsbook operator’s views on Truss’ new role: “We don’t expect her to last very long in office and in fact make her just 4/6 to be in charge for less time than Theresa May, while we’re not totally ruling out her serving the shortest reign in history at 50/1.”
A keen interest in political betting
Betting on certain types of political events is nothing new in the UK. There are usually betting markets available for the big elections that take place across the world, such as the US presidential election and UK general elections.
It is not just William Hill that appears to be bearish over Liz Truss’ potential longevity as prime minister. Betfred, for instance, has Keir Starmer as the 4/5 favorite to be the UK Prime Minister following the next general election. Starmer is the current leader of the Labour Party; sportsbooks believe that the Labour Party could regain power next time out. At the moment, it appears that the next general election will not take place until at least 2024.
Gambling reform up in the air
The news that a new prime minister has been chosen will be welcomed by responsible gambling advocates. The long-awaited UK government review of the region’s main gambling legislation was postponed until a new premier was in office.
Efforts to review the Gambling Act of 2005 began toward the end 2020 and looked at all aspects of the gambling sector’s framework. A raft of new measures had been expected to be recommended when the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport publishes its white paper on the matter. The white paper was initially set for publication in August, but the political turmoil meant that it was postponed.
There are concerns in some quarters that Truss might ultimately avoid making major changes to gambling legislation. With the cost of living spiraling out of control, Truss has committed to cutting taxes for everyday people. She may not want to put in place overly strict measures on the gambling sector as it could end up significantly reducing the government’s tax revenue from the sector.