British oddsmakers already betting on royal baby

LONDON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Hours after Buckingham Palace announced the duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy, British oddsmakers began accepting bets on the second royal baby.

The royal family announced Monday morning that Prince George will soon have a younger sibling, and betting Britons wasted no time in putting money on predictions for the baby's gender and name.

Ladbrokes, a betting agency, put 4-5 odds that Kate and William's second child is a boy, but holds an "even money shot" for a baby princess.

If it's a prince, James has 6-1 odds. Arthur is the close second with 8-1 and Charles and Thomas are tied with a 10-1 shot.

Ladbrokes competitor Paddy Power has its own docket of possible baby names with Henry and Elizabeth as the favorites with 10-1 odds. The other choices for a prince are Arthur, William, Philip and Charles. The possible princess picks include Victoria, Charlotte, Alice and Alexandra.

"If there's one thing that baby George taught us it's that the British public love a punt [a bet] on a Royal offspring and we're bracing ourselves for another baby betting bonanza," said Paddy Power. "Money is already pouring in by the 'pram load' and we expect this to be the biggest novelty betting market of the year."

Paddy Power is predicting 5-1 odds on the baby weighing less than six pounds and 6-4 odds that the baby will be a brunette. The agency said there is a 33-1 chance the duchess will give birth to twins and a 16-1 chance that the baby will be born on the queen's 89th birthday, April 21.

The duchess of Cambridge, who is not yet 12 weeks pregnant, is reported to have acute morning sickness, a problem she had during her first pregnancy.