Political Bets and Odds Offered by Sportsbooks Reflect People’s Opinions

In spite of sports betting being federally legalized in the US, sportsbooks based in the country are not allowed to accept bets on political events. 

Nonetheless, overseas betting platforms allow wagers on who will win an election, who will represent a certain party, or humorous topics like who will wear a red tie during a presidential debate, or who will curse first on live television. 

An article from Allison M. Prasch and Jason Kido Lopez published by The Conversation shows that these bets, which are based on the current political context, are also a reflection of people’s opinions on different topics. 

What Do Political Bets Offer?

Each of the options part of the bets, which must be placed before the upcoming Democratic National Convention, carries certain degrees of risk and profit.

Political bets, in general, are neatly organized in menus, allowing gamblers to pick which bets they want to wager on as well as the amount they would like to risk.

Each selection has odds assigned to it. The odds simultaneously announce the payout of winning bets, as well as their probability. 

Those options that feature a negative sign are more likely to occur, thus bringing smaller earnings. Bets with positive signs express the fact that respective selections are less likely to happen, which will win bettors more money. 

One heated topic/bet at many overseas sportsbooks today is tied to Joe Biden’s decision to stay in the Trump VS Biden presidential race or step aside due to the public’s growing concerns regarding his physical and mental health and well-being. 

The odds change constantly. However, on July 8, a winning bet that Biden would stand down would bring a $3 payout for every $1 wagered ($2 win).

At the same time, a $1 bet that Biden would stay in the race would deliver a payout of $1.33 ($0.33 win). 

This reflects a stance that Joe Biden is expected to stay in the race.

Similarly, last week, sportsbooks ranked Kamala Harris ahead of Joe Biden in the presidential race, with Donald Trump still retaining his lead ahead of the date of the election. 

Political Bets Reflect People’s Opinions

According to The Conversation’s study of the 2020 and 2024 elections, bets represent much more than simple ways for people to make a profit from politics, highlighting different aspects of the electoral process and showing the way the public perceives elections in general.

While people are driven by very different factors when they bet and they engage with politics at different levels, sportsbooks that accept political bets introduce a “flattened and polar way of understanding the contemporary political moment.”

Plus, the odds offered by sportsbooks reflect the way candidates embody competing attitudes toward several topics while simplifying otherwise complex political issues down to two “yes” or “no” propositions bettors must wager on.