Centrebet puts early odds on Brash

Don Brash

Betting agency Centrebet has National as slight favourite to provide the next Prime Minister.

The Australian bookmakers were offering $1.77 on Don Brash becoming Prime Minister and $1.90 on Labour leader Helen Clark keeping the job. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters was paying $151.

Centrebet says it specialises in betting on elections and its odds are more accurate than polls - a claim it says is supported by an American study that found Centrebet's odds on the 2001 Australian federal election forecast the result correctly and provided precise estimates of outcomes in more than 40 electorates.