US Election 2004: Landslide Bush victory say online punters

George W Bush is heading for a surprise landslide victory in next week's US Presidential elections, if online betting patterns are to be believed.

Although US opinion polls are still finding it hard to separate Bush from his Democratic Party challenger John Kerry, punters using online betting exchange Betfair have overwhelmingly backed Dubya.

Betfair's latest figures show £2.3m has been wagered on Bush, putting him on 60 per cent, while Kerry has attracted only £680,000 of bets. Bush has been backed down to 1/5 to stay in office while punters can still get odds of 2/1 on Kerry to win.

Betfair claims its betting patterns are a more accurate indication of election results than the opinion polls, having correctly predicted Australia's prime minister John Howard to secure a surprise comfortable victory in last month's general election.

Mark Davies, director of communications at Betfair, said opinion polls only canvas a small percentage of the population who have no real incentive to provide accurate information.

"In contrast, Betfair's prices are based on people who are prepared to put their money where their mouth is," he said in a statement. "Our figures have proved to be an amazingly accurate indicator at both the Australian general election last month and the California Governor's election last year. As a result, we're sure George Bush will be pleased to hear that Betfair's sharp-minded punters are backing him to the hilt."