William Hill Slashes Odds on ‘Yes’ in Scottish Independence Poll

UK bookmaker William Hill have slashed their price on a Yes vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum following the latest live debate between Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland, and Alistair Darling, leader of the Better Together campaign.

The second round of the TV debate was held on Monday evening, with ICM poll by the Guardian revealing that some 71 per cent believed that the SNP leader won the contest.

Seeing as how it was Mr Darling that had enjoyed a 56 per cent victory in the initial debate held on 5th August, the Yes voters had plenty of reason for optimism.

One of UK’s leading sports betting operators William Hill was forced to cut the odds on Yes after the flurry of bets on the Yes vote, with the price currently standing at 4/1.

“From 11/2 down to 5/1 and now to 9/2 (currently 4/1), the Yes vote has picked up momentum of late, and we expect the gap to narrow even more as we approach polling day,” said spokesman Graham Sharpe.

The company representatives have revealed that while more than three quarters of the wagers placed in their land-based shops have been for Yes, some 60 per cent of bets placed online and via mobile are for No.

And with two customers having a combined total of £800,000 riding on the No vote, it is hardly surprising that William Hill has encouraged their players to continue backing the Yes vote.

“We’d like to take a little more cash for a Yes vote to balance our book, and if the vote were to go that way we’d almost certainly be able to claim we’d got off Scot free!” Sharpe added.

About Scottish Independence Referendum 2014

A referendum on whether Scotland should gain independence from the United Kingdom will be held on Thursday 18th September 2014 after the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill was passed on 14th November 2013 by the Scottish Parliament.

Some 4.1 million people will be eligible to vote Yes or No on the referendum question “Should Scotland be an independent country?”, with the latest polls suggesting that No votes lead 51 per cent to 38 per cent, with some 11 per cent undecided.

Scotland and England formed the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 before the union merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.

With three weeks left before the historic referendum takes place, there is still time for both sides to win over new supporters and try to reinforce their position ahead of 18th September.