With less than 50 days until the US presidential election, the stakes have never been higher for the candidates, the country, and sports bettors. That’s right. Every election cycle, sports bettors wager millions and millions of dollars on which candidate is going to take the White House.
And while the main factor affecting changes in the presidential betting lines is how the public is betting, it always seems to serve as a great barometer for the election and a signal for any turning tides.
Let’s take a look at the current odds from Bovada.lv, what they mean, and what to expect over the course of this week. Also, stay tuned, as this will be a regular installment all the way up until Election Day.
Donald Trump (-105)
At (-105), Donald Trump is an ever-so-slight underdog to win the election based on the betting odds. When you compare these odds across multiple sportsbooks, many have it at this point or dead even. You wouldn’t be wrong to say that it’s a virtual toss-up at this point, according to the presidential betting odds, anyway.
What Could Change the Odds This Week
As we move closer to the election, expect to see a lot more activity out the republican candidate, Donald Trump, as well as attacks from the other side of the aisle. Here are the things we’re watching out for this week.
The Effects of the Bob Woodward Tapes
President Trump conducted several taped interviews with Bob Woodward earlier this year for a book. In those tapes, President Trump made several remarks regarding the handling of the recent major health crisis. If you ask the left, Donald Trump downplayed major events and misled the American people. If you ask the right, he tactfully handled the crisis in a way that brought hope and prevented an outright panic. While we aren’t going to get into who is right, we are going to watch how the public receives this and how many news cycles it lasts for.
The Middle East Peace Deal
This week, the President brokered what many are calling a peace deal between Israel and several Middle Eastern countries. Many familiar with the situation expect as many as nine other countries to come to the table and begin talks. The President has also been nominated twice for a Nobel Peace Prize based on the happenings. What are we watching? How is this going to play with voters? Is this going to shift the slight-underdog status back in favor of the President?
The Handling of the Environmental Crisis
Hurricane Sally hits the Gulf Coast, and the Western US is burning with massive wildfires. A lot of people on both sides of the aisle are looking to see how the President manages the crisis. A big point of discussion has been the cause of the fires and the reason for the severity. Ask the right, and they say it’s because of mismanagement of forestry resources. Ask the left, and they say it’s because of climate change. Again, we’re not getting in the middle of it, but we’re monitoring this closely and seeing how it could potentially affect election outcomes.
Joe Biden (-115)
At (-115), Joe Biden is the slight betting favorite to win the 2020 Presidential Election. Over the past two months, Biden was a much larger favorite, but that swung briefly in the President’s favor and then back slightly in the former Vice President’s favor.
What Could Change the Odds This Week
There’s a lot happening on both sides of the aisle that could affect these odds. Remember, all of the events we listed that could affect President Trump’s odds would also affect Joe Biden’s odds. Here’s a look at some more events and issues that could be at work over the course of the next week.
Biden-Harris or Harris-Biden
This past week, the former VP and his running mate had a few gaffes at the mic that have caused a bit of an uproar. Biden referred to the ticket as the Harris-Biden ticket, which would allude that Harris was leading the ticket. Additionally, Kamala Harris referred to the administration as the Harris Administration before quickly correcting the mistake. While this would normally play as just two people misspeaking, there have been rumors floated (and we point out that they are just rumors) that Joe Biden is a “trojan horse” to get the more progressive Harris into the Oval Office. Again, we’re not getting in the middle of any of this, but it’s something to pay attention to as the right is currently hammering it in the news cycles.
A Big Spend in Florida
Recent polls in Florida, a key battleground state, show that the former Vice President isn’t polling as strong with Latino voters as was originally expected. This is a voting block that Hillary Clinton won decisively in 2016. In response, Biden has already made a trip to Florida this week. Additionally, billionaire Michael Bloomberg (and former presidential candidate for 2020) has pledged to spend $100 million in the state of Florida to help Joe Biden win the election. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that didn’t agree that $100 million dollars in one state isn’t going to make some kind of a difference.
The First Debate
The first presidential debate is less than two weeks away. What’s interesting is that early polls show voters predict Donald Trump will win the debates. However, a lot of people are pointing to the fact that one, that might not be the case, and two, debates don’t have as big of an effect on undecided voters as some may think. It’s going to be very interesting to see the first face-to-face debate between these two candidates.
Some Interesting 2020 Presidential Election Prop Bets
- Biden is (+550), and President Trump is (+850) to drop out of the election before November 1st. This means voters think it’s more likely that Biden drops out over Trump, but both are not expected to do so.
- Kanye West is (+10000) to win the election. This means a $10 bet would pay $1,000 in profit.
- Republicans are (-120) to win the state of Florida, slight favorites over the Democrats.
- Democrats are (-200) to win the state of Arizona, favorites over the Republicans. President Trump won Arizona in 2016.
Gary Stone
Gary writes about political and entertainment betting and keeps an eye on serious legislative matters and pop culture for a living. But as someone who enjoys media consumption as much as the next person, Gary proclaims that writing and gambling his way out of debt is truly an entertaining way to live life. …
