A software glitch on iPredict is allowing traders to bet against a SkyCity convention centre deal being signed off by yesterday.

Earlier this year the prediction website, which allows traders to bet on political and economic events, launched a number of stocks on the government’s plans to allow SkyCity to install additional pokie machines at its Auckland casino in return for building a convention centre.

As well as allowing traders to bet on how many pokie machines the casino operator would be allowed under the deal, iPredict also has stocks on when a deal would be reached.

One stock asked whether a legally binding deal would be signed off and announced before November 1 (today).

Usually this would prompt the market price of suck a stock to fall to zero, however iPredict’s market maker is currently offering seemingly infinite amounts of stock at 3.58c. This equates to a 3.58 per cent chance that the deal was announced by midnight last night. Since this story was published, iPredict has closed the contract.

The website was launched by Victoria University’s commercial arm, VicLink, but is now run by Exceltium, the corporate affairs company of right wing commentator Matthew Hooton.It is not the first time iPredict has suffered software problems - it is currently unable to close a number of stocks relating to US unemployment.

Earlier this month the website crashed for 48 hours, with its administrator blaming a hardware problem, which a Victoria University spokeswoman denied.

Disclosure: Hamish Rutherford is one of more than 5000 registered iPredict traders.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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