ALEX SALMOND, Scotland’s nationalist first minister, is known to enjoy a flutter on the horses. He must therefore have felt his political racecard had turned hot in 2011 when Colin and Chris Weir, two lifelong members of the Scottish National Party, won a lottery jackpot worth £161m ($271m). That win, remarkably, has probably shortened the odds on a Scottish exit from the United Kingdom, after the independence referendum due in September. It has also helped reveal just how deeply the vote is dividing Scotland.

Funding declarations show the pro-independence “yes” campaign has so far raised £4.4m, of which fully £3.5m has come from the Weirs (they also gave £1m to the Scottish National Party). That puts it roughly neck-and-neck with the “no” campaign, which claims to have more than £4m. Money alone will not decide the outcome of the referendum: caps intended to equalise the financial firepower of the two sides come into force at the end of May. But it certainly helps—and this has already made the Weirs a target for the hatred this contest is stirring.

In a letter to the Scotsman newspaper, the publicity-shy lotto winners complained of having been subjected to “downright nasty” comment and of being “denigrated in the most personal of ways”. On the other side of the fence, a pro-union campaign closed its website comment function after remarks such as “traitor” and “mushrooms that love to be covered in unionist shit” appeared next to videos of ordinary folk explaining why they want Scotland to stay in Britain.

Online assaults of this kind have been a common, and occasionally sinister, feature of the campaign. A newspaper poll found that 13% of voters claimed to have received abuse or threats, including an elderly unionist who received an unsigned letter telling him he should be beheaded face upwards “so he can see the blade coming”. Backers of independence were more than twice as likely to have felt threatened as were unionists.

To mend the hurt, the Church of Scotland has invited representatives of both camps to a service of reconciliation three days after the vote. Mr Salmond—who, like his opponents, deplores personal abuse—loftily plans to offer another olive branch. He says he will give unionists places in a “Team Scotland” handling independence negotiations after a “yes” vote.

That still seems an unlikely outcome. Opinion polls, which suggested last month that the “no” lead was shrinking, now suggest the 20-point advantage enjoyed by the unionists for over a year has been restored. David Cameron, who was due to visit Scotland on May 15th and 16th, aims to widen the gap further.

He will bring a new message. The unionist campaign has so far concentrated on telling Scots what leaving Britain would cost them, in higher interest rates and energy bills. This, Mr Cameron’s advisers concede, has put more backs up than it has won converts. So the strategy is shifting to emphasise the gains to be had from the union on both sides of the border. That is sensible, even if Scots may not heed the messenger. It is a long time since Scotland warmed to a Tory prime minister.