Labor: the punter’s favourite in WA
The Centrebet odds at the moment are $1.38 for Labor and $2.80 for the Coalition: win probabilities of 67 and 33 per cent. Unchanged from yesterday.
Update: the odds are unchanged at 10am on Sunday 20 February 2005, and at 8:30am on Monday 21 February 2005.
The latest blurb from Gerard Daffy at Centrebet (dated 18 February) …
The Western Australian election will be held this coming Saturday, and while the polls still have the Coalition either ahead of neck and neck with Labor, we see it differently.
Labor continue to have a stranglehold on favourtism at $1.50 a place they have occupied for nearly two weeks. While many have said that the proposed canal from the Kimberley to Perth is a fantastic idea, the idea put forward by Coalition leader Colin Barnett hasn’t impressed punters who have backed Labor from $2.30 into as short as $1.40.
Over $100,000 has been wagered on the WA election, with a lot more expected to come in before people head to the polls on Saturday. At the current prices ($1.50 Labor, $2.40 Coalition) we are seeing money come in both ways, with some of the bigger bets this week including $6000 and $5000 for Labor, and bets of $2000 and two of $1000 for the Opposition. The power black outs in WA this week seem to have had a significant bearing on the policies of both parties this week, and have also been the catalyst for a wave of smaller bets coming through for the Coalition.
This will be a really good test for what we have labeled the ‘punters poll’ as the betting has been completely different to what every political expert, and the polls have said, and that is that the Coalition will win!