Insider reveals why bookies avoid Voice to Parliament referendum

An Australian bookmaker has revealed why the major betting sites — like Sportsbet and Ladbrokes — are not taking bets on the Voice to Parliament referendum, to be held next month.

Robbie Waterhouse, who runs RobWaterhouse.com, said the major corporate bookmakers were avoiding launching odds on the October 14 referendum because it was politically sensitive.

With the Yes campaign struggling to gather support, with polls backing this statement, the No campaign is heavily favoured by online bookmakers that have launched markets — including PlayUp and BlueBet.

BlueBet boss Michael Sullivan described the amount of money being wagered on the referendum as Melbourne Cup-like, with plenty of interest coming from the public.

Betting on politics in Australia is very popular, with bookmakers generally offering odds on both state and federal elections, while they also offered odds on the Same Sex Marriage plebiscite in February 2017.

With much of corporate Australia backing the Yes vote, Waterhouse said there was definitely sensitivities surrounding offering odds on the Voice to Parliament.

“I think they’re regarded as being a very sensitive thing to bet on,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

“People have actually said to me that I shouldn’t be betting on it.

“This is just not a nice thing to do.”

Waterhouse went on to tell the Daily Mail that he was offering odds of 9-1 on a successful Yes vote, but BettingSite.com.au could not find this on his website at the time of publishing this story.

PlayUp.com.au has got the Yes vote at $4 to be successful, with the No vote the heavy favourite at $1.22.

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