Gamblers bet heavily on a Remain vote as polls closed – with a whopping £16million placed on the outcome of the vote on the campaign’s last day alone.
More than 88% of punters were having a flutter on the UK staying in the EU as voting ended, with just 12% backing Leave.
The Remain campaign started the morning with 76% of gamblers backing it, but surged throughout the day.
In contrast, Leave began the day with a quarter of punters believing it would win, only to slide as voters headed to the polls.
Yesterday, most bookmakers were giving odds of around 1/10 on the UK staying with the EU, with odds of 11/2 for Leave being offered.
As much as £100million is thought to have been bet on the outcome of the EU referendum over the course of the campaign.
Just last week, the Remain camp suffered its worst day on the betting markets, with backing falling to 55% as polls suggested a surge for Leave.
On June 16, 41% of punters were backing an Out vote – the highest percentage of the campaign.
Online bookmaker BetFair, who produced the betting market statistics, have a history of predicting political events.
In the 2014 Independence Referendum, the bookmaker famously paid out on a ‘No’ two-days before votes were cast because it was so confident of the result.
Earlier this week, Ladbrokes’ head of political betting Matthew Shaddick said the EU referendum was “the biggest non-sporting event the bookmaking industry has ever seen”.
He added: “£100 million (is) expected to be wagered by the time the polling booths close on Thursday night.
“The EU referendum has overtaken last year’s General Election and the Scottish independence referendum as the largest political betting event of all-time.
“On the eve of the vote we see a very similar scenario to last year’s General Election, with polling showing a dead heat but the betting demonstrating a significant tilt towards one outcome: a vote to Remain in the EU.”
