A novelty market offered by many online bookmakers is political betting. The market has grown in prevalence among bookmakers that accept punters based in New Zealand.

Many punters who have placed political bets in the past would agree that it is a very different experience to betting on traditional markets. While the experience may be different, the betting format followed is very similar.

Odds are offered on various elections, parties, and candidate, and when punters place their bets, they do so in the same way as they would when betting on traditional markets. They may find, however, that there are fewer types of bets from which to choose.

Informed Political Betting

Placing informed bets is the key to successful political betting online. Much like sport, politics tends to arouse fierce loyalties and whip up emotions in many punters, and this is not often conducive to good betting.

Like placing small wagers at https://mobilebetting.net.nz/golf, there is nothing wrong with placing a small bet on a candidate out of loyalty to either candidate or party. However, punters need to face up to the fact that the candidate they support may not actually have a snowball’s chance of winning.

If that is the case, punters would do well to place a larger bet on the candidate or party that stands the best chance of winning the election, even if they think that candidate is the most odious and repugnant creature on the good green earth.

Punters who are serious about political betting ensure they keep up with New Zealand’s current affairs and political news. Apart from betting guides published by online bookmakers, punters also check social media updates, established and alternative media platforms, newspapers and magazines, and even political party websites for up-to-date news.

If an election is skewed in favour of one candidate, such as a president who has miraculously won every election for more than 30 years, punters shouldn’t even bother trying to bet on it. If bookmakers offer any odds on such an election, they are usually very low indeed.

Political Betting Options

Online bookmakers that offer political betting usually provide punters with a selection of different types of bets. As in other markets, the types of bets range from simple to complex.

Most bookmakers open election betting long before the elections are due to happen, giving punters who enjoy placing long shot bets the chance to do so.

The simplest of all bets is the straight up win bet. Those bets are placed on a party or candidate to win, with the favourite usually having lower odds than the others.

Slightly more complex than straight up win bets, money line bets are another feature of online betting. When placing money line bets, punters in New Zealand bet how much of the vote will be received by the winning party or candidate.

Other fairly complex bets include betting on how many seats in Parliament will be won by a party, whether a party will win seats in Parliament, and how candidates will be ranked when the popular vote is tallied.

Important Political Events

New Zealand’s online bookmakers offer political betting markets on local and some international elections. Of greatest interest to punters is the election of the Prime Minister.

However, many punters are also happy to bet on the election of the US president, as well as those of the prime ministers of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.