SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The adage of ‘expect the unexpected’ appears to have been forgotten in US politics, with all signs pointing to a repeat of Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump as the contenders for the US 2024 Election.
As it stands, nothing seems capable of derailing this outcome, even as former President Donald Trump faces his third indictment in connection with the events leading to the 6 January riots at Capitol Hill.
The indictment of a President, be it sitting or former, should be treated as a global show-stopping affair. Yet Betfair Politics sees no change in the makeup of its US 2024 markets.
Betfair Exchange remains unmoved, with Biden and Trump as the favourites to secure their respective party nominations and compete for the 2024 US Presidential Election. In terms of the US 2024 odds, Joe Biden is the favourite at 15/8, followed closely by Donald Trump at 12/5.
Sam Rosbottom, Spokesman for Betfair Politics, commented: “As the 2024 US presidential election campaign trail kicks into life, the odds suggest we’ll be turning back the clock to 2020 with Joe Biden and Donald Trump as the favourites to win their party’s backing and campaign for a second term in office. Biden is the 15/8 favourite to win next year’s vote with Trump close behind at 12/5. However, there is no close competition in the nomination markets, where both are clear favourites.”
Speculation regarding presidential hopefuls for both the Republican and Democrat parties should be frantic a year ahead of the 2024 elections. Yet, Betfair sees little movement on challengers to an 80-year-old Biden and a twice-indicted Trump, who reportedly faces 78 criminal charges.
For the Republican nomination, Trump leads significantly with odds of 4/9, comfortably ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose odds have trailed to 9/1 following a lacklustre campaign. A look beyond Ron sees the contenders of Chris Christie, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley and Glenn Youngkin all index at above 30/1 odds, underlying Trump’s hold over GOP voters.
Meanwhile, in the Democrat camp, Joe Biden is also the clear favourite with odds at 2/5. Gavin Newsom and Robert Kennedy Jr. follow with 9/1 and 16/1 respectively, while Vice-President Kamala Harris stands at 21/1.
Rosbottom noted that Trump’s odds have remained strong despite his upcoming court appearance, and Biden’s age (he will be 81 by the time of the election) doesn’t seem to affect his chances.
“Punters have failed to identify a significant challenger to Trump’s bid to win the party’s backing. His closest rival, Ron DeSantis, has seen his odds drift to 9/1 from 14/5 when he announced his candidacy in late May,” detailed Rosbottom.
“Like Trump, Joe Biden appears to have the Democratic nod sewn up, according to the odds. The incumbent President is the clear 2/5 favorite to win the Democratic nomination and run for a second term, which would see him hit the campaign trail when he turns 81 later this year.
“The challengers to Biden are a little stronger than the competition Trump faces, though there is no standout contender to rival him. Gavin Newsom at 9/1 is the next likely candidate to challenge Biden, followed by Robert Kennedy at 16/1 and Vice-President Kamala Harris at 21/1.”
