Donald Trump’s odds to win the U.S. presidential election may not match that of bookmaker’s favorite Hillary Clinton, but a late surge of bets have been placed on the Republican candidate ahead of the final presidential debate on Wednesday.
British-based bookmakers William Hill have launched their list of bets for the final debate, with Clinton placed at 1-3 to win the final televised showdown and Trump at 9-4. Overall, Clinton remains the hot favorite to win the presidency, whereas Trump now has a 20% chance of winning compared with 15% before the weekend.
However, the Trump campaign doesn’t seem to have dissuaded bettors looking for a last-minute gamble, as William Hill’s latest figures show that 65% of bets on the market have been placed on Trump with the remaining 35% placed on Clinton. As to why punters might be backing Trump at this stage, Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said, “It may be because the race has reached a level now where people thought it might be worth taking a chance, or just as with the E.U. referendum, people just don’t believe the opinion polls.”
Bookmakers have responded by cutting the odds on Trump to win in a betting pattern reminiscent of the run-up to the E.U. referendum in Britain earlier this year. “It was the case that consistently throughout the E.U. referendum campaign, some two-thirds of the money gambled was for Remain, but in terms of individual bets, it was around two-thirds for Leave,” said Sharpe. “In straight bookmaking terms we have to be big Trump supporters as he currently represents a six-figure loss in our overall market.” In terms of stakes, Hall’s figures said 71% of the total money bet on the U.S. election has been placed on a Clinton win, including a record-breaking bet of over $610,000 placed on the Democratic candidate earlier this month.
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