Australians are set to gamble millions of dollars on an October 9 election, but while the conservative government is odds-on favourite some sports-mad punters can smell an upset opposition Labour victory.
Online bookmaker Centrebet said on Monday Australians would gamble more than A$2 million ($1.4 million) on the outcome of the election, with more than A$400,000 wagered since the agency started taking bets a year ago.
Of that figure, A$100,000 was staked last week - the first week of the six-week campaign, including three bets of A$10,000 each and a single bet of A$30,000 on a Liberal/National coalition government victory.
But Gerard Daffy, Centrebet's sports betting manager, said 60 percent of the punters were putting their money on centre-left Labour ousting the eight-year-old government, which is seeking a fourth consecutive term in office.
"There's little doubt given the closeness of it and the length of the campaign that betting will probably get beyond A$2 million, which will make it the single biggest event that Australians bet on with Centrebet this year," Daffy said.
Daffy said Centrebet would take more money on the election than on the Australian Football League and National Rugby League grand finals - quite a feat in sports-mad Australia.
Australians have the highest rate of gambling in the world, a passion dating back to when the first convict settlers, shipped from Britain in 1788, bet on cards and dice.
By the early 1800s, horse racing was the rage but this has now been overtaken by slot or poker machines that line the walls of almost every pub, hotel and casino.
More than 20 percent of the world's poker machines are in Australia, about five times as many as in the United States on a per capita basis.
National gambling statistics released late last year showed Australians gambled away a record A$15 billion in the year to June 30, 2002 - nearly two percent of gross domestic product and slightly more than the nation's defence budget.
"We all have to vote so why not turn that into some dollars. The betting is running along the same lines as the last election. If John Howard doesn't put his foot in it the odds for the government can only get shorter," Daffy said.
"Mark Latham needs to start pulling rabbits out of hats," he said, referring to the Labour leader.
Centrebet will pay out A$1.47 for a dollar bet on a government win and A$2.50 for a dollar placed on a Labour victory.
Few Australians balk at betting. The nation grinds to a standstill every year for the Melbourne Cup horse race and the nation's richest man, Kerry Packer, is an avid gambler, known for spending millions at the baccarat table.
Australia's economy, one of the world's strongest, remains the biggest issue in the campaign, along with the government's support for the US-led Iraq war and national security.