Election Gamblers Earn Betting Jackpot After Trump Win
The largely unexpected Donald Trump Victory in the 2024 US Presidential election delivered a big win for gamblers who bet on him to defeat Vice-President Kamala Harris. Trump’s victory was decisive, with 312 votes opposed to Harris’s 226.
Donald Trump’s win delivers payoff to gamblers who backed him.
Gamblers to Collect Around $450 Million from the Election
In a historic twist, Donald Trump secured a second, non-consecutive term as President of the United States, defeating Kamala Harris in a dramatic, seemingly never-ending 2024 election.
This outcome was particularly rewarding for gamblers who bet on Trump’s victory, with Reuters estimating that around $450 million could be paid to those who backed him, including wagers placed with unregulated offshore betting platforms for election gambling.
The win marked Trump as only the second person in history to hold non-consecutive terms, following in Grover Cleveland’s footsteps and delivering Republicans a rare popular vote victory – only the second since 1992.
In the lead-up to Election Day, polls consistently showed Trump and Harris locked in a dead heat. Betting markets reflected this uncertainty, with Trump initially entering the race as a slight underdog.
Could Bookmakers Have Influenced the Outcome?
However, as the campaign heated up, Trump’s odds inched closer to favorite status. This shift was driven by last-minute betting activity that tipped the scales slightly in Trump’s favor just before election night, with many gamblers seeing value in an upset.
While major U.S. betting apps like DraftKings and Caesars avoided posting odds on the presidential race, a handful of smaller platforms and offshore sites allowed gamblers to place bets on the outcome.
Many bettors in the US who sought odds on the election turned to these unregulated offshore betting sites, which pose a significant risk due to their lack of consumer protections and regulatory oversight. Winnings from these platforms are far from guaranteed, and their legal status leaves bettors vulnerable.
Betting operators who offered election odds saw an influx of US players betting on the high-stakes Trump-Harris showdown, further fueling an already sizable betting pool on the 2024 election.
Winning Decisively
In a turn of events that contradicted predictions of a prolonged ballot-counting process, Trump’s victory was declared by midnight on Election Day, with over 300 electoral votes secured as votes continued to be counted into the week.
The decisive result in the American election delivered clarity to gamblers who had anxiously tracked every swing state’s returns, providing a clear outcome earlier than expected. The results also marked a significant milestone for Republicans: the party will apparently control both the Senate and House of Representatives, in addition to the White House.
For many, Trump’s clear win validated their bets, while others who took a chance on Harris or expected a lengthy, disputed result saw their wagers fall short.
This betting bonanza also highlights the divided and complex relationship between politics and gambling in the US. Though most major betting platforms refrained from taking action on the race, the growing interest in political betting underscores a demand for regulated and secure options within the US market.
As it stands, many Americans seem content to seek political odds from unregulated sources, even as those platforms remain rife with potential risks.
