In political betting sites, the U.S. presidential election was never taken down after the second attempt on former President Trump’s life.
That Was Then
At a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania former President Donald Trump was stalked and subsequently wounded by a would-be-assassin who was ultimately shot dead by the security detail tasked with protecting the Republican presidential candidate. A Trump supporter was mortally wounded as well and the world was in shock.
When word reached the White House, President Biden condemned the attack, and bookmakers that are in jurisdictions outside the United States that allow political wagering were staring down the barrel of a moral dilemma. Some, like FanDuel, BetMGM, and DraftKings decided to suspend presidential betting in Ontario while others like bet365 chose to leave it alone.
“In light of recent events, FanDuel has made the decision to suspend its US election markets,” a spokesperson for the bookmaker said shortly after the July shooting. “At this time, FanDuel has no further comment.”
Yet, not everyone shared FanDuel’s perspective, as evidenced by the statement released by William Woodhams, chief executive officer of Fitzdares, who said, “I cannot see one good reason why we would take down an election market, in fact, it seems rather mean to do so with such a moment in this election year. The only reason I can see operators doing this is to protect their own wallets from the onslaught of Trump bets that will follow the attempted assassination.”
This Is Now
Approximately two months after the first assassination attempt, another shooter was lying in wait on Sunday but thanks to an eagle-eyed Secret Service agent, the shooter was identified and subsequently arrested. And once again, bookmakers faced the delicate decision to suspend presidential betting or allow it to continue.
FanDuel never reopened their presidential betting market in Ontario but BetMGM and DraftKings ultimately returned it to their betting menus. However, unlike the first time when Trump was physically wounded, this time there was no actual shooting but malicious intent was certainly in evidence. Neither BetMGM nor DraftKings lifted their presidential odds this time around and unlike the first time, the odds have not moved much either way.
Vice President Kamala Harris remained a -125 favorite a day after the second assassination attempt while Trump stood firm as an even-money underdog to reclaim the White House. There was no sympathy voting for Trump, unlike last time when he thrust his fist in the air after getting bloodied in July’s attempt on his life.
A spokesperson for Stake, said, “After the uptick in Harris bets during the debate, we have seen a return to expected split with 70% of tickets and 85% of money on Trump.” In Betfair’s Monday election blog, the U.K.-based betting exchange, “In the past 24 hours, most money was bet on Harris, with just over £543K wagered on her winning the White House, while for Trump the amount was £323K.”
