London has jumped ahead of early leader Paris in the 2012 Olympic bid race, according to Australian bookmaker Centrebet.
“Support has dried up for Paris. After good initial money I think that people were waiting to see how it handled the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. Many observers were not impressed and that is being reflected in our betting market,” Mark Worwood, spokesperson for Centrebet and responsible for setting Olympic odds, told GamesBids.com.
The current odds are London 8-5, Paris 9-5, New York 9-2, Madrid 5-1, Rio de Janeiro 8-1, Leipzig 12-1, Istanbul 20-1, Moscow 33-1 and Havana 100-1.
Centrebet has gained a reputation for real and reliable Olympic oddsmaking since taking bets for all Olympic gold medals won at the Sydney 2000 Summer Games. Centrebet was also the only online oddsmaker that correctly chose Vancouver to win the 2010 Winter Olympic bid.
“Some of the bookmakers ‘betting’ on this are pathetic. Some are [still] laying bets on Toronto and Sao Paulo. Others are not quoting Istanbul” Worwood observed.
Toronto, Canada and Sao Paulo, Brazil did not submit their intentions to bid by the July deadline and are officially out of the running.
Also lending to its credibility, Centrebet is located in Alice Springs, Australia – far removed from the European continent where biases on the 2012 race are rampant. Many of the top and often quoted bookmakers are run from Britain.
Worwood said that the appointment of Sebastion Coe and the appearance that London is “getting their act together” has added to the British bid’s strength.
“[The] most interesting money is on Rio de Janeiro…laid more money on this bid than any other over the past few months and now it trades at a single-figure price” said Worwood adding that he thought Rio’s major weakness, along with Istanbul, was security.
“The Games are heading for Europe and London and Paris are clear frontrunners…New York is the potential spoiler but the vote takes place a long time after September 11, 2001 and I think that the sympathy for the Big Apple will have long left town.”
