Ladbrokes calls time on giant football odds after Leicester City Premier League win
Ladbrokes has called time on giant football odds after Leicester City’s Premier League win slapped the bookmaker with a multi-million pound payout earlier this year.
Odds for Leicester City had been 5,000/1 when the league kicked off and cost Ladbrokes £3m when the underdog outsider team won. Fellow bookmaker William Hill said its costs had been between £2m and £3m.
Ladbrokes is now offering odds at a maximum of 1,000/1 for outsider teams such as Burnley in the English Premier League, which will start on 13 August.
Read more: This is how much Leicester City's win cost William Hill
“It is not a definitive policy, but it’s the reality for us now,” Ladbrokes spokesman Alex Donohue told City PM
However, Leicester City’s surprise victory has inspired a new wave of support for unlikely winners.
“In the wake of Leicester City’s win, business on outsiders is up 300 per cent season-on-season,” Donohue added. “Lots of football fans have all adopted an outsider for the season if they don’t support that team themselves.”