How to bet on Politics

Prediction markets

Prediction markets pose “yes” or “no” questions to traders, such as:

• Will Michelle Obama become the first female president in 2020?
• Will Donald Trump be re-elected as President of the United States in 2020?
• Will Sen. Cory Booker announce his candidacy for presidency?

Traders can then buy “yes” or “no” shares on each question, their prices depending on supply and demand, just as in the stock market. If your predicted outcome happens, the futures market will pay 100 cents on the dollar, and zero if it does not.

Betting lines

Some of the most common betting lines you can expect to see are:

Odds to Win the 2020 Republican/Democratic Presidential Primary

This type of betting line allows you to pick who you think will win the nominations for the 2020 presidential election for each party. Betting early on this prop means more options will be on the table in terms of candidates. That makes it harder to pick the right one, but also means the potential payout will be larger. These are long-term bets, because the money you wager will be tied up until the outcome is decided.

Odds to Win the 2020 Presidential Election

As the name suggests, this betting line concerns the overall winner of the 2020 election. Most sportsbooks will list individual candidates, but may also have spin-off props like:

• Odds on which party will win the 2020 Presidential Election
• Odds on the gender of the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election

Odds to Win the Popular Vote – Betting lines on the popular vote rarely appear until one or two months out from the actual election date. Though the popular vote does not make a difference in the actual election results, there is a lot of talk surrounding who wins.

Odds to Win a Specific State – We offer betting lines to win key swing states early in electoral races. Winning a swing state can make or break a campaign for candidates, so this type of line can be an exciting one to bet on.