Bookmakers named the favourite candidates for the presidency of the Czech Republic, who will participate in elections in 2023. The leader is the Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (odds at 2.45: 1), followed by the former president Václav Klaus Sr. (odds at 5.5: 1) and General Petr Pavel (odds at 7: 1) according to Novinky.cz.
The spokesman for the Fortuna betting company, Petr Šrain, told ČTK that the volume of bets already reached three million CZK with as many as 40% placed on Babiš’s victory. Interestingly, the company registered a 10,000 CZK-worth bet on the victory of a former Minister of Health, Roman Prymula. Fortuna currently has 58 candidates for bets.
“In any case, the spectrum of favorites will continue to evolve, especially in connection with how individual aspirants will announce their candidacies or what support they will rely on,” Šrain told ČTK.
It is curious how the preferences of the betters changed over seasons. For example, in the fall, there was not as much betting on Babiš’s victory while Václav Klaus Sr. was exceptionally favorable. According to Šrain, when the bets just opened, the most popular candidate was Václav Klaus Jr. (odds at 25: 1), who shortly lost his position and is currently ranked 9th. Exactly a year ago, Pavel Fischer (odds at 9: 1), the ex-candidate for the presidency, ranked second after the Prime Minister, but today, he occupies the 4th position.
The last election’s betting volume reached 285 million CZK. Currently, the highest bet is placed on the combined victory of Joe Biden and Andrej Babiš – it values at 50,000 CZK, which would lead to an earning of 250, 000 CZK.
