FT REPORT – SPREAD BETTING 2007: A finger on the political pulse, by Ross Tieman

“Mike Smithson is on a roll. Britain’s foremost political spread betting aficionado is profiting from the opportunity bonanza offered by political upsets in the UK and the US presidential race. “It’s been a great autumn,” he says. “I have got a hefty wadge that has been transferred into my bank account. Since October, I have done about £6,000 (of profits).” You can’t make a living from political spread betting, says the author of The Political Punter – how to make money betting on politics, but you can certainly turn an interest into a nice little earner.”