On Sunday morning Channel 4’s Michael Crick put out the following Tweet about Steven Woolfe, the Manchester-born barrister and MP who was then the hot odds-favourite to become the next UKIP leader.
I hear Steven Woolfe has failed to be nominated for leader of Ukip. His form came in 20 minutes late, I'm told.
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) July 31, 2016
As a political gambler this was massive news with the potential for relatively risk-free profits. For at the time Woolfe was rated as 72 per cent chance on the online Betfair betting exchange which, unlike traditional bookmakers, offers the opportunity to bet that a particular outcome will not happen. In effect you can become the bookie laying bets that others want to place.
As a general rule try to ensure that I am logged into my Betfair account at most times when there are active political events and ensure there are sufficient funds available so I can react quickly to pieces of news like the Crick Tweet.
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