Ladbrokes has confirmed that betting on Article 50 has been thrown into chaos after yesterday’s High Court intervention, which ruled that parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU.
Following the ruling, Ladbrokes initially kept 2017 as the odds-on favourite for when the UK will invoke Article 50. However, it is now just 9/4 that it doesn’t happen before 2021, or even at all. The odds for a 2017 general election have also been cut, and it’s now only 2/1 that the government attempts to force an early vote next year.
Matthew Shaddick, Head of Political Betting at Ladbrokes, said: “This might be bad news for the government, but punters who took our original odds of 5/1 about nothing happening before 2021 are now sitting pretty.”
An official Downing Street statement read: “The government is disappointed by the court’s judgment. The country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by act of parliament, and the government is determined to respect the result of the referendum. We will appeal this judgment.”
Ladbrokes’ Latest – When will the UK invoke Article 50?
- 2016 – 50/1
- 2017 – 4/7
- 2018 – 6/1
- 2019 – 16/1
- 2020 – 20/1
- 2021 or later – 9/4