Bookmakers in Britain have suspended all bets; if Greece, will be leaving the eurozone due to the current political upheaval in the country.
William Hill plc (LON:WMH) and Ladbrokes PLC (LON:LAD) have suspended all bets on whether Greece will be leaving the eurozone. Betting on William Hill had increased on Greece leaving the eurozone that it had been deemed to risky to continue taking new bets. The odds had actually been pushed to down to a quarter.
The increased bets on whether Greece will be leaving were attributed to the fact that the country is having political troubles, after leaders in Greece were unable to form any government. This has increased fears that Greece could be heading to a single currency.
Greece’s capital, Athens is in chaos as voters who had recently elected new leaders showed their anger over the new measures on austerity. This has put leaders in the country in limbo, and they are still trying to create a sustainable government. This has led to great uncertainty over the country’s continued membership in the eurozone causing jitters in Europe and the world markets. It is this uncertainty that has led to Ladbrokes suspending all bets in lieu of the country’s withdrawal from the euro.
Greece has been a favorite among betters for a while, but with the elections and subsections chaos in Greece, every one has had a change of heart, and it is the only the thing that people want to bet on. William Hill plc (LON:WMH), which is also the biggest betting firm in Britain, said that that such a situation was dangerous, and unhealthy, because it was becoming increasingly hard to make a book.
On the other hand Ladbrokes said that it, suspended betting on the issue because they had been cutting the odds for a while now. The second biggest betting firm said that suspending the bets was better because it was safer in the long run. However, Ladbrokes is still taking bets that the Greek stock market will loose more than 25% in a single day’s trading by the end of this year.
Additionally, due to the fears that have been expressed: that the withdrawal of Greece would be the beginning of the end of the euro. Then Ladbrokes is offering bets on the odds that by the end of this year, the euro will no longer be there. This bet, when taken would mean that any bet made, would be thirty three times, its original stake.
Other odds offered by Ladbrokes PLC (LON:LAD) include odds that the euro will stop existing by the 2015, odds of 5/6, and odds of 4/1 that two or more countries will have left the eurozone by the end of this year. However, William Hill has placed bets that the euro will stop existing by 2015, and odds that had been gotten before the suspension of betting showing that 11/10 were against the odds, and 4/6 supporting it.
Nonetheless, the two largest bookies in Britain said that as soon as Greece stabilizes, then it will reopen its books to the market and resume betting.
