Record political bet taken on Scottish referendum

William Hill has taken what it is suggesting is the biggest political bet ever taken after one of its customers from South West London staked £400,000 on the outcome of the Scottish Referendum. The punter, who apparently did not have a Scottish accent, has bet on the referendum returning a No vote at odds of 1/4.

Even more surprisingly, the punter struck the bet in one of Hill’s betting shops, paying via banker’s draft.

“‘As far as we can ascertain this is the biggest political bet ever struck,” said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe. “The previous record was a £200,000 bet also struck on a No vote in the Scottish Referendum earlier in the campaign, and the same amount was gambled by a customer who backed David Cameron to become Tory Leader.”

Unsurprisingly, the bookmaker has shortened the odds on a no vote down to 1/5.

Sharpe added: “We are now well on the way to turning over £1million on the outcome of the Scottish Referendum which is exceeding our expectations.”