Super Tuesday could break Australian betting records with the Melbourne Cup, Oz Lotto and the US Presidential election seeing punters part with up to $500 million all on one day.
More than 7.5 million Australians will be hoping for a shot at Oz Lotto’s $100 million prize and 5.7 million are expected to have a bet on the Melbourne Cup, which brought in over $143 million last year.
Photo by Eddie Mills.
Tatts Lotteries spokesperson Zoe Nobel was unable to speculate on the final division 1 prize but it was dependent on the number of ticket holders.
“Just under half of the Australian adult population will buy a ticket, matching the Australian record set in May this year,” she said.
Ms Nobel said when Oz Lotto promised a $90 million jackpot in 2009, excitement led to Australia-wide queues out the doors of lottery agents, pushing up the division 1 prize to $106 million “which went to two very lucky Australians”.
The chances of winning the division 1 prize will be about 1 in 45,379,620.
Many Australians are also expected to take a punt on the US presidential election, taking place on Tuesday in America. Latest odds on Barack Obama winning the Presidential election are at 67.5 per cent allowing punters to make an extra dollar.
Associate Professor Matthew Rockloff from Central Queensland University’s (CQU) Institute for Health and Social Science Research said Super Tuesday was an opportunity for Australians to embrace their love of gambling in a fun way.
“It’s a cultural phenomenon with Australians getting together on rare occasions to bet; [we] would bet on two flies running up a wall,” he said.
Professor Rockloff, who has specialised in the psychology of gambling and the socioeconomic effect this can have on people’s lives, believed it was not a problem gambling issue.
“People who will bet this Tuesday wouldn’t participate in other forms of gambling, much like drinking alcohol. If you only gamble on these rare occasions you won’t experience problems. However people who gamble a lot often run into financial difficulties.” – Eddie Mills
Photo by Natasha Chadwick
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