Politics Betting: What Odds Putin for 2018?

Vladimir Putin secured a record third term in the Kremlin this week after receiving well over 60 percent of the votes in the 2012 Russian Presidential election. Like him or loathe him, this secures his place as the country's leader.

With another Putin victory ensured, William Hill online bookmaker is offering 4/6 odds that he will still be in charge on January 1, 2018 - and 11/10 that he will be out of office by then. He was elected for the new extended term of six years, so all he needs to do is stay in power for the wager to be good.

Of course, anything can happen between now and 2018, and plenty of Russians will want to see the back of Putin. The 2012 presidential election attracted the most attention of any since the collapse of communism more than two decades ago, with protests over corruption and legal reforms which allegedly aided Putin's victory.

In William Hill's US presidential odds, Mitt Romney has firmed in overall betting to 2/1, just behind Barack Obama, 4/9. In Republican candidate betting, Romney is now a clear 1/6 leader to defeat Rick Santorum, 5/1, Ron Paul 22/1, and dark horse Newt Gingrich 33/1.

In France, Nicolas Sarkozy looks likely to struggle to win a second term as president - even though Hills has taken money on him from quite a few punters. Socialist Francois Hollande leads on 3/1, followed by Sarkozy, 5/2, Francois Bayrou, 16/1, and Marine Le Pen, 40/1.

Get all the latest Russian, US and French presidential odds updates via William Hill's Twitter account, @williamhillNews. Betting previews are tweeted regularly, along with other tips throughout the day. Around 15,000 followers have already signed up, so be the next for all the latest updates from around the world.