Gambling companies draw a lot of stick for profiting from people with psychological or emotional problems and people with learning difficulties. At their worst, they can offer vestiges of hope to the damaged that lead them into a spiral of addiction and ruin.
However, not all attempts by gambling companies to profit on the stupid views that idiots hold are quite so reprehensible. For example, PaddyPower is currently offering odds of 6/4 against that the UK will lose its AAA credit rating by the end of January.
The UK won’t lose its AAA credit rating by the end of January. If you believe the UK will lose its AAA credit rating by the end of January, then you score an absolute maximum “Fat UKIP voter in the pub” on the “Warren Buffett’s IFA to Crazy Tramp Shitting Through A Letterbox” scale of ‘understands financial markets’ (this is about one point below George Osborne, fact fans).
So crazed EVILZANULIEBOURHAVERUINEDOURCOUNTRY!!!!-ites will lose their cash to an Irish joke. That’s good news all round. Incidentally – I’ve checked, and PaddyPower very sensibly aren’t running the bet the other way.
As a slim UKIP voter not in the pub, all I can so is "Of course it won't". A more sophisticated punter would sell Long Gilt futures on the assumption that interest rates on govt borrowings will increase and make a profit that way (or not, as the case may be).
Indeed. But "slim UKIP voter not in the pub" raises you two notches up the scale, ahead of George Osborne.
Need to find a betting exchange that will allow punts on this kind of thing.