Gamblers bet over $30 million on Dutch elections using U.S website

Gamblers bet a staggering $32,791,393 on the outcome of the Dutch parliamentary elections on the American site Polymarket in recent weeks. The most bets were placed on the PVV at over $10 million, followed by the D66 at nearly $6 million.

Polymarket is a prediction market, an online platform that doesn’t have a gambling license, but allows users to bet on the outcome of future events, like the parliamentary elections last week, according to Casino Nieuws.

On Polymarket, gamblers bet on which Dutch party would win the most seats and who they thought would become the next Prime Minister. The prediction market for the most seats got over $27 million in bets.

Until last Tuesday, the PVV was the clear favorite with a 70 to 80 percent chance of winning. Over the course of Wednesday, the sentiment shifted, and the D66 took the lead. Polymarket now has the D66 at a 94 percent chance of winning the most seats. If there’s a tie, as currently appears to be the case between the D66 and the PVV, the winner will be decided by alphabetical order.

In the market for the next Prime Minister, CDA leader Henri Bontenbal was long the favorite with over 50 percent chance of winning, according to betters on Polymarket. On Wednesday, that shifted to D66 leader Rob Jetten, who now stands at around 81 percent. Despite gamblers thinking the PVV would get the most votes, leader Geert Wilders’ chance of becoming Prime Minister was considered virtually nonexistent at 1.1 percent.

The Netherlands’ Gambling Authority is currently investigating prediction markets like Polymarket. The watchdog said in a statement that it believes websites like Polymarket allow people to gamble and is “considering the next steps.”