Two bookies slash odds of UK “In” vote in EU ref to shortest so far
William Hill and Ladbrokes are offering the shortest odds to date for Britain staying in the European Union, as people think it's increasingly likely the UK will remain.
The two bookies cut their odds on Britain staying in the EU to 1/6, leaving punters with only £1 in profit for every £6 wagered.
Telephone and online polls have given contradictory pictures of public opinion, however betting odds have consistently indicated a high probability of an in result when Britons go to the polls on 23 June.
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Ladbrokes, which removes the margin it takes on bets from its calculations, pointed to a 79 per cent chance of an "In" vote — up from 66 per cent a month ago.
William Hill said its odds showed the chance of the UK staying had risen from two per cent yesterday to 85 per cent today. It also lengthened its odds for Brexit to 7/2 from 10/3, indicating a 22 per cent chance of this happening.
"During the week just gone, the odds for remain have halved from 1/3 to 1/6 as many political punters seem to have decided they know what the result will be," William Hill said in a statement.
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Ladbrokes said: "The Brexit rally of a few weeks ago seems a distant memory. It's significant that so many people are prepared to back remain despite the short odds."
The government has been ramping up its warnings against a Brexit as the June 23 referendum looms. Chancellor George Osborne warned again today that Brexit will hit house prices, as an immediate economic shock hits financial markets.
It came as finance leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) said that they want Britain to remain within the EU, but they acknowledged they could do little more than hope.