SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Betfair Exchange has released data on Joe Biden’s chances of re-election as US President – with the odds dramatically plummeting after an official report found the 81-year-old has a ‘hazy memory’.
Biden’s odds have drifted out to 14/5 from 2/1, the operator revealed, with the President insisting ‘I know what the hell I’m doing’ and ‘my memory is fine’ in response to the Justice Department report into his mishandling of top secret documents.
With elections scheduled in the US and highly likely in the UK this year, it may be worth bookmakers’ time to monitor the politics markets closely as news-savvy punters take their chances with various candidates.
Sam Rosbottom, Betfair spokesperson and Lead Politics Analyst, commented: “Biden has been a fairly significant drifter in the Election Winner market, but this report, compounded by another memory lapse, is seeing punters viewing Trump as the safer bet with their money.”
Furthermore, Special Counsel Robert Hur described Biden’s memory as ‘fuzzy’, ‘faulty’ and having ‘significant limitations’. Betfair also highlighted how the Democrat had forgotten the date his son had passed away.
“And, during his White House address last night (Thursday), Biden went on to commit another gaffe by mistakenly referring to the Egyptian leader as the President of Mexico,” Betfair continued.
Further odds from Betfair over the weekend stood at Donald Trump 6/5, Michelle Obama 11/1,Gavin Newsom 17/1, Nikki Hayley 26/1 and Kamala Harris 27/1.
Rosbottom noted that the gambling company is seeing lots of interest from bettors on other potential Democrat candidates too.
“Vice President Kamala Harris and Former First Lady Michelle Obama have been by far the most popular out of the potential list of replacements on the democratic ticket,” the spokesperson added.
Betfair also emphasised how faith in Donald Trump’s chances of reclaiming power continue to grow despite his ‘overwhelming legal issues’ – which included four criminal trials and a string of lawsuits.
In December, SBC News asked Robsbottom if he is expecting a higher-than-average turnout for political betting markets with two seismic elections ‘potentially taking place next year’.
He replied: “There’s an incredible appetite for political betting on elections both here and in the US, and there can be no doubt that 2024 is going to be the year of political betting. The US Election in 2020 was, and is still the world’s biggest betting event, with £1.7bn traded on the Betfair Exchange.”
The Analyst continued: “As things stand, punters are predicting change in the US and UK. Donald Trump is the favourite to win the Presidential election at 6/4, while Joe Biden is 11/5.
“Looking at the next UK election markets, for several months now, Labour has been the overwhelming favourite to win a majority, and looking at the wider polling, it looks as though the Tory party have a lot to do to move that market.”
SBC Leaders also reached out to Smarkets Patrick Flynn for the magazine’s latest issue, with the betting exchange’s Lead Politics Analyst sharing his view that political trading has gone from a niche market to a significant aspect of the industry.
As punters in the US and UK prepare to simultaneously cast their votes and place their bets, bookmaker trading teams should prepare for a surge in interest as the year rolls out…..
