The Czech Republic is currently in the midst of a presidential election, and the odds of a victory for candidate Petr Pavel have been steadily falling, while the odds of a win for Andrej Babiš have been on the rise. According to bookmakers, the lower the odds, the higher the chances of victory.

Currently, bookmakers are offering bets on a victory for Pavel at odds of 1.04:1 to 1.07:1. Meanwhile, bets on Babiš to win the second round of the election are being offered at odds of 8:1 to 12:1. This means that if a person were to bet CZK 1,000 on Pavel, they would win CZK 1,040 in the event of his victory. If they bet the same amount on Babiš and he won, they would receive up to CZK 12,000 in winnings.

Last Thursday, the odds of Pavel winning were 1.18:1 and the odds on Babiš were around 4.5:1. Even before the first round of the election, the odds of Pavel winning were 1.43:1, while the odds of 3.5:1 were placed on the victory of Babiš.

Pavol Boško, chief bookmaker and political betting specialist at Tipsport, stated that “Petr Pavel’s lead is significant and can be compared in football terminology with Slavia Prague leading 2:0 in the 86th minute of a first league match. Of course, we also accept bets on Mr. Andrej Babiš to win. His fans still believe he can turn the situation around.”

The second round of voting will take place on January 27th and 28th, and bookmakers are reporting that betting is already at record levels. In the last presidential election in 2018, 285 million crowns were wagered. It remains to be seen whether Babiš will be able to pull off a comeback, but one thing is certain, the betting stakes are high, and the election is generating a lot of interest.

Article by Prague Forum