SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
A surge of bets placed on Queen Elizabeth II announcing her abdication during her Christmas Day Message has led Gibraltar bookmaker Coral to suspend its Royal betting market.
The bookmaker stated that it had recorded a ‘rush of bets’ placed on the announcement, including a £200 bet on the abdication being announced this Christmas.
A Coral spokesperson said: “There’s no smoke without fire when bets like this come through all in succession, so we have decided to be safe rather than sorry and pull the plug on the market.”
The Royal Household have dismissed the rumours stating that no significant announcement would be made during Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas Day Message.
Coral nevertheless have decided to close their royal market stating “The last royal gamble when we closed the book was about the second pregnancy and that was right.”
Coral competitor William Hill, stated that it had not taken any bets on Queen Elizabeth announcing her abdication.
However the bookmaker stated that it had recorded multiple bets on the Queens Christmas Message being the most watched TV programme on Christmas Day, promoting William Hill to slash its Odds from 100-1 to 7-1.
