The United States is heading to the polls to determine who will be the American President for the next four years, but will a traumatic 2020 for the USA result in a new President entering the White House or will Donald Trump be given the green light for another term in the Oval office?
US Presidential Election 2020 Betting: Who Will Be The Next US President?
Current President Donald Trump started the year facing an impeachment trial, but the headlines generated by that trial were nothing compared to what followed and in early March bookmaker Paddy Power confirmed that Trump was no longer its favourite.
“For the first time since we opened a betting market on the 2020 Presidential Election, a candidate has overtaken Donald Trump as the favourite,” said a Paddy Power spokesperson.
“Joe Biden is the new front-runner to win. I’d say that one punter who backed Trump big is wondering if it’s such a sure thing now. We’ll just have to wait and see. An even race now, Donald.”
At that point Biden was considered the Even-money favourite, but since then his odds have shortened into 8/15 (at the time of writing) as President Trump’s every action, every word and every movement have come under serious scrutiny.
The United States has become a nation divided over the handling of several huge issues, and as a result Biden and President Trump have been heading in the opposite direction in the betting over the past several months with Biden shortening to 8/15 while Trump has drifted at 6/4.
However, the bookmakers’ verdict on the 2020 US Election does not mean this race is a foregone conclusion and that President Trump has been written off.
In fact, on the back of that calamitous debate between the two candidates Paddy Power reported a flurry of support for the current Commander In Chief being given four more years in the White House.
“77% of our wagers taken since the start of the debate up to Wednesday morning were placed on Trump, compared to 23% on Biden,” said a spokesperson for the Irish firm.
“It was hardly the kind of debate that made you glad you had stayed up until the early hours of the morning, but the fact that Biden seemed to get the first one out of the way without any major hiccups has seen his odds for the win shorten.
“However, interestingly enough, despite the fact we cut the odds on him, many bettors overnight were still putting their hard-earned on Trump to win again.”
US Presidential Election 2020 Betting: Election Specials
Needless to say you can bet on more than just who will win the US Presidential Election.
Bookmaker Paddy Power is offering a string of ‘special’ bets on how the 2020 election will unfold and at 1/16 the Irish firm believes it is nailed on that Biden will take away at least one state that President Trump won in his successful campaign four years ago.
Paddy Power is less convinced about the chances of Trump gaining the support of a state won by Hilary Clinton in 2016, going 6/4 that it happens, while at 66/1 the bookie believes there is very little chance that the state map looks exactly as it did after Trump and Clinton went head-to-head for the presidency four years ago.
The terms ‘popular vote’ and ‘electoral college’ votes will be thrown around a lot over the coming months, and that is no surprise given what we saw back in 2016.
Trump’s election success was only the fifth time in history where the winning candidate lost the popular vote but won the presidency via the Electoral vote, and the bookmakers do not like his chances of taking the popular vote this time around either, with Biden the 1/8 favourite and Trump a 4/1 underdog.
It is 15/8 that history repeats itself this year with Trump losing the popular vote but being re-elected for a second term, while it is 7/4 that Biden is the runaway winner in the popular vote, winning it by 10% or more.
President Trump received 304 electoral college votes four years ago, but at Even money Paddy Power believes it is not impossible that he receives 199 or fewer this time around.
US Presidential Election Odds: Betting Specials
- Biden wins at least 1 state that Trump won in 2016 1/16
- Biden to win popular vote 1/8
- Trump to receive 199 or fewer electoral college votes EVS
- Trump wins at least 1 state that Clinton won in 2016 6/4
- Biden to win the popular vote by 10% or more 7/4
- Trump to lose popular vote but be re-elected 15/8
- Trump to win popular vote 4/1
- The state map to be exactly the same as it was in 2016 66/1
US Presidential Election 2020 Betting: The First Debate
US Presidential Election 2020 Betting: Vice Presidential Debate