The Betting Market Names Top Contenders To Replace Liz Truss As UK Prime Minister
In the past, people could bet on what color hat Queen Elizabeth would wear to the opening day of the Royal Ascot; her dresser even had to go so far as to set out decoy hats for Queen Elizabeth before the event to help prevent the secret from getting out and spoiling things. Perhaps in 2023 the traditional will continue for the color hat worn by Camilla, Queen Consort?
Another popular royal family betting pastime is on the name and sex of a royal baby. Katie Baylis, now the Senior PR and Editorial Manager at Betfair, talked to Vanity Fair about betting on royal baby names in the run up to the birth of Prince Louis, the youngest son of William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales. She revealed that people had started betting on when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would have their first baby before they even got married. And back when Princess Diana was pregnant with her second child, odds were in the favor of her having a girl that would be named Elizabeth, per United Press International. But it's not just the royal family that can show up as an option at a local British bookmaker. People are making bets on who will be the next UK prime minister after Liz Truss resigned, becoming the UK's shortest serving prime minister.
Rishi Sunak is favored as the next UK prime minister
Liz Truss said she will stay prime minister until a new one is elected, and that there would be an election by next week, per BBC. That doesn't leave a lot of time for bettors to decide who they think will be her replacement. British bookmaker Ladbrokes, at the time of writing, has former chancellor Rishi Sunak in lead with 4/6 odds. Sunak lost to Truss in the summer conservative party election for prime minister after Boris Johnson resigned, and he had been in the lead until the final vote, according to BBC.
Next in line by the odds is Penny Mourdant, who Ladbrokes has at 3/1 odds. Mourdant was in the running for prime minister at the same time as Sunak and Truss; she was the second to last candidate eliminated before Truss' election. And then, perhaps surprisingly, in third place is Boris Johnson with 4/1 odds.
Before Truss resigned, people were betting on what year she would resign from 2022-2025, according to LegitGamblingSites. Those who bet on 2022 are probably pretty happy today.