May 5 election: You bet says Hills

Despite the delay in the calling of the election, Britain's bookmakers are preparing for a political betting bonanza when the day is named.

Betting shops and online websites expect punters to gamble some £10m on the outcome on an election still widely expected for May 5.

Bookmakers William Hill predicts the outcome of the election is in little doubt - Labour are 1/10 favourites to emerge as the largest single party, with the Conservatives at 11/2 and the Lib Dems 66/1.

But the state of the parliament overall is less clear cut - with Hills offering 5/1 that a hung parliament will occur, and 10/1 that the Lib Dems win more seats than the Tories.

Changed landscape

"Labour were virtually unbackable favourites last time, which kept betting turnover down, but since then the removal of betting duty and the advent of internet betting have seen betting in general and political betting in particular really flourishing," said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

"We have already seen bets of £50,000 and £20,000 for Labour and two bets of £10,000 for the Conservatives even before the starting gun has been fired, so we are optimistic that when May 5 is confirmed - and we offer 10/1 about it being any other date - a real political betting pandemonium will break out.'"

The high street bookmaker will take bets on one hundred individual constituencies and are opening books on the next leader of Labour and the Conservatives.

But Hills thinks Tony Blair may have plans to stay around for some while yet - quoting him at 9/2 to exceed Margaret Thatcher's tenure of 10 Downing Street before standing down.