Man City beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 on 2 March to move 15 points clear of city rivals Manchester United with 11 matches to play, with the two clubs to meet on Sunday.
City’s victory was its 21st in a row in all competitions, an English record, and its 15th consecutive win in the Premier League, meaning Pep Guardiola’s men are well set to record a fifth Premier League title.
With operators such as Bet365 and SkyBet offering odds as short as 1/500 for City to regain its crown, North American-based sportsbook Bovada has decided to pay out early on all bets for City to win the league title.
Speaking on its decision, the operator said: “We at Bovada believe it is now inevitable that Manchester City will easily win their fifth Premier League title this May.
“In lieu of holding onto players’ winnings for the next three months, we have decided to pay out all bets on the Sky Blues to win the English Premier League at this time. We will still keep wagers on other teams open through the end of the season and will pay them out in the unlikely event another team reaches the top of the table.”
Early pay outs have had a nasty history of backfiring. In September, Paddy Power paid out on Fulham to be relegated after the club endured one of the worst starts to a Premier League campaign, but have now moved to within just three points of safety.
While back in 1998, Betfred co-owner Fred Done lost £500,000 ($698,860) by paying out early on Man Utd to win the title after being 12 points clear of eventual winners Arsenal.
