The Liberal Party of Canada’s 2006 Biannual Convention has arrived and delegates are now only days away from determining the winner of the Liberal Leadership race. With the successor to Paul Martin set to be decided on Saturday, PinnacleSports.com today released updated odds on who’ll become the next leader of the Liberal Party.
The largest sports betting site on the Internet, PinnacleSports.com originally opened wagering on the eight candidates to win the Liberal Leadership race in mid-September with Michael Ignatieff as a 7/4 favorite (i.e., win $7 for every $4 bet) to become the party’s next leader. Now only two days before the new Liberal leader is determined, Bob Rae has overtaken Ignatieff as the favorite to assume the party’s leadership position at 3/2 odds (i.e., win $3 for every $2 bet). Despite receiving the most bets and 40% of all money wagered throughout the campaign, support for Ignatieff has waned since Super Weekend and he now has just the third-best odds to win the election at 7/2 odds.
Bet on Politics at PinnacleSports
Francophone candidate Stephane Dion has made a solid push since betting opened, receiving 20% of all wagers placed and now stands at 2/1 to become the next head of the Liberals. Although he’s currently ahead of Dion in the number of delegate votes received, Gerard Kennedy has gained only moderate support from bettors, receiving just 10% of all dollars wagered to date, and is currently 5/1 to win the party vote. PinnacleSports.com considers the four other candidates as longshots to win the leadership race, with Ken Dryden (200/1), Joe Volpe (300/1), Scott Brison (400/1) and Martha Hall Findlay (500/1) accounting for a combined total of only 3% of the bets placed so far on the Liberal leadership race.
“Our bettors have been deadly accurate at forecasting election outcomes in the past including correctly predicting the Conservatives win in the January election weeks before the opinion polls,” said Simon Noble of PinnacleSports.com. “Ignatieff had been the favorite to win the election since betting opened until the start of the Liberal Party Convention, but since Super Weekend he’s been losing momentum and bettors have begun backing other candidates. The polls now indicate that Rae and Dion will receive support from the fringe candidates which should catapult them ahead of Ignatieff. Since the convention opened yesterday, bettors obviously followed the latest polls and began backing Rae and Dion to assume control of the party leadership.”
Bet on Politics at PinnacleSports
PinnacleSports.com will continue to offer betting on the Liberal Leadership race until the convention’s conclusion and accept wagers of up to $500 from players. In addition, PinnacleSports.com will also offer live wagering as the ballots are cast throughout the convention.
Current Odds: All Odds Subject To Change
Odds To Be Next Leader Of Liberal Party Of Canada
Bob Rae 3/2
Stephane Dion 2/1
Michael Ignatieff 7/2
Gerard Kennedy 5/1
Ken Dryden 200/1
Joe Volpe 300/1
Scott Brison 400/1
Martha Hall Findlay 500/1
