The race is heating up to replace John Tory at Toronto’s top job, and 86 different names have thrown their hats in the ring to become the city’s next mayor in the upcoming June 26 by-election.
As pundits and pollsters prognosticate the potential purveying of power next month, the ever-growing online gambling industry is letting people put their money where their mouth is by throwing down their hard-earned dough to gamble on which of the many candidates will prevail.
Online sportsbook FanDuel is broadening its grip on wallets, expanding beyond the sports sphere to tap into the municipal politics nerd market (which I assure you is plentiful) as part of the company’s self-described “novelty betting program.”
The betting odds, as of writing, play out similarly to the current standings in mayoral polls.
The current front-runner, Olivia Chow, has money line odds of +175, meaning that if someone were to wager $100, their payout would be $175 greater than the initial bet.
Former city councillor Ana Bailao‘s money line sits at +450, followed by polarizing ex-police chief Mark Saunders at +550.
But for the real gamblers out there, it’s the unlikely candidates that could pay out the big bucks, assuming you can somehow picture a timeline where controversial former city councillor Giorgio Mammoliti actually has a shot at being elected mayor, with a money line of +1400.
Even further down the list, former male model Anthony Furey offers an absurd money line of +2000, while perennial presence on mayoral ballots, Kevin Clarke, rounds out the list of longshot candidates at +3300 odds.
But who knows? Like Leafs fans always say, “It could finally be his year.”
FanDuel has launched similar novelty betting stunts in the past, kicking off the program last year by accepting bets on when the first snowfall of the season would arrive, and following on that success with a series of quirky Superbowl bets ranging from coin toss outcome to the colour of Gatorade poured on the winning team.
