Whilst election betting in the U.S. is illegal, online forums and international operations wagering on Tuesday’s outcome have proliferated. According to Reuters, the 2016 Presidential race is now on track to become the most wagered-upon political event ever.
The vast majority of big-money political betting occurs outside America, with wagering on elections limited by law to relatively small trading platforms connected to universities in the U.S. Nonetheless, according to B.C. Lottery Corporation betting on the election has now surpassed the Super Bowl.
On Sunday Betfair said its “Next President” market was set to become the most traded it had ever seen. The UK-based internet betting exchange reports $130m has been traded as of Sunday, in comparison to the $50m placed on the 2012 electoral campaign.
Paddy Power spokesman, Féilim Mac Anlomaire says the U.S. presidential election “is definitely on course to be the biggest political event”. So far the site has had about $4.38m bet on the race. Even though politics is more of a “niche market” for Paddy Power, he expects the 2016 event to be among the top 10-most-traded events on the site.
Ladbrokes have also reported a vast increase in with about £5m bet on the 2016 election since its markets on the race opened four years ago. Similarly to Betfair, this amount was “was at least double” the amount wagered on the 2012 election.
After Clinton was cleared of any criminal misdemeanours on Sunday, the three sites all reported an 83% probability of a Clinton victory on Tuesday.
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