Presidential Election Betting Odds For 2016

Betting on elections is as old as elections themselves.  Earlier in US history, presidential election odds and public wagering were not only legal, they were an accepted and welcomed part of the political process.  In fact, political odds and polls were even driven by betting action from the public, producing valuable information for the country prior to the advent of scientific polls.

A hundred years ago, presidential elections were as big an event as the Super Bowl is today.  The public square was full of constituents arguing over whom should run the country, waiting for the big results to see how much money they won, or who had to eat crow (literally).   Those traditions may have passed over time, but following the odds on who will become the next president is indeed still a popular form of betting entertainment.   As Americans become more engaged with the political landscape with each election, and technology feeds this phenomenon through access to any and all information surrounding an election, the market for betting on politics is growing exponentially.  We have the ability to be as informed about our nation’s politics as we choose to be, and many of us are going to use that knowledge to not only be involved as informed voters, but to also bet on the outcome and possibly make some to boot.

Based on the growth of this type of betting entertainment, we became inspired to create a comprehensive resource guide specifically targeting the political niche. We will provide valuable information to US residents interested in legally participating in political betting at licensed and reputable online sportsbooks.  Along with information regarding the most current and accurate odds for the 2016 presidential election, this guide will also provide additional information about the betting lines and options that are available, the status of the candidates who are running for president, relevant news articles, and recommendations for where to legally and securely place your bets online.  It is our desire that you are not only informed voters, but also informed bettors, equipped to make the best possible decision regarding your involvement with political betting.

Odds Updated Daily

Who Is Running For U.S. President in 2016

There is a stark contrast between the two major political parties and the size of their campaign field. The Democrats started with barely a handful of candidates, and have whittled it down to just three heading into election year. On the other hand, the Republicans started with a rather large number and have not whittled the field down by very much at all yet. The Libertarian party has seen a single candidate join the race as recently as January 2016. This section of our guide will take a brief look at each candidate running for president and what they are best known for regarding their positions on the issues.

Democrat Presidential Candidates for 2016

The democrat running field has been reduced to three candidates: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley. Clinton and Sanders have the most attention among the Democrats and the media, but O’Malley doesn’t seem to be discouraged by this. Lincoln Chafee, Jim Webb and Lawrence Lessig have all dropped out of the race. Check out our page offering the latest odds to win the Democratic nomination.

Republican Presidential Candidates for 2016

The list of republicans running for president is much longer than the democrats’ list, despite several of the candidates exiting the race. The number of active participants has gone from 17 to 5 over the past month. Unlike the democratic candidates who are all Washington insiders, the republican list of names includes individuals without any political background at all. The remaining candidates in the republican nomination include: Donald Trump,  Ted Cruz, John Kasich. Those who were in the race but that have dropped out are Marco Rubio,  Ben Carson,  Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, Lindsy Graham, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Chris Christie, George Pataki, Rick Perry and Scott Walker. Check out our page offering the latest odds to win Republican nomination.

Candidates That Have Dropped Out Of The Race

Last Updated 07/20/2016

Rick Santorum, Martin O’Malley, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Lincoln Chafee, Jim Webb, Lindsey Graham, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, Jim Gilmore, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Rick Perry, Scott Walker and most recently Jeb Bush , Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Ted Cruz.

Types Of Betting Lines And Vegas Odds Available For The 2016 Presidential Election

If you’ve browsed the odds at all at any of our recommended online sportsbooks, you’ll notice that the list of candidates is not always limited to only those individuals whom are already actively participating in the race.  This is because the range of deadlines for entering the race varies from state to state, and runs as late as May in some areas.  At some gambling sites, the betting odds will often cover people who are popular among their constituent base and could potentially join the party late in the game.  The closer we get to the election, the more refined the vegas odds coverage will become.  For those who took a chance on futures bets early in the process, you probably want to closely watch how the lines and odds begin to evolve as we inch closer to the primaries.

Betting on politics, including the 2016 presidential election, affords gamblers a nice, wide range of options to choose from. You can choose to simply bet on the outcome of the election, or to really get into it and take advantage of the creative lines and prop bets that you find the closer you get to the elction. For those of you who may never have participated in any type of political betting entertainment before, we have provide a look at the most commonly offered bet types and lines so that you have a clear understanding of how they each work.

Some of the categories you will find in election betting lines include placing bets on the outcome or the primaries, the presidency, the popular vote, and even some prop topics such as gender. Each of these categories has a variety of lines associated with them. We’re going to list them out individually, along with an explanation of how they work. You will see the options change periodically as we lead up to the election, with some bets not becoming available until a few days or weeks before the election.

Betting Odds For Who Will Win 2016 Presidential Election

Obviously, these bets will have to do with the overall winner of the election based on the Electoral College, and not the popular vote. You have straight bets for who will win the election, which party will win the election, which gender the winner will be, and even sometimes what the gender balance of the final ticket will be. Options will vary from sportsbook to sportsbook. Among these lines, there are also varying bet categories. Two popular categories include:

Handicapped electoral vote count: This bet will involve beating a spread in regards to the number of electoral votes, which is based on the Electoral College structure within the election process.

Over/Under electoral vote count: In this type of bet, you are trying to determine if a candidate will come in over or under a specific number of predicted votes. The odds and amount of votes will vary from candidate to candidate and are based on that individual’s standing within the election.

Betting Odds for Winning the 2016 Presidential Primary

Lines covering the primaries will be offered for each party represented in the election. You are betting on who will win the nomination from each political party. These lines can see the same type of variety as the scenario above. You will see lines for who will win for each party, which gender the winner will be, etc. These lines will become quite refined the closer we get to the election. It is not uncommon to see the handicapped and over/under options available for presidential party primary betting lines leading up to Election Day.

Betting Odds for Winning a Specific State

It is no surprise that there are odds for which candidate and/or party will win particular states. After all, that is how the election is won, state by state. You will typically see odds for the larger, more influential swing states that have a large bearing on the overall results of the election. This can be particularly exciting because the results of Electoral College votes in the swing states can be very unpredictable. As the election progresses, the number of betting lines and odds covering specific state results increases to include smaller states. Check out our State Primary odds page for more information.

Betting Odds for Winning the Popular Vote

A candidate can win the popular vote, however loose the election. We saw this when Hillary Clinton beat Obama in the primary for the popular vote, but lost to him when it came down to the Electoral College count. Does it make any sense? Nope. Is it legitimate? Yes it is. The Electoral College structure is a sound one and is the best we’ve come up with to make sure everyone is fairly represented, but it is still hard to swallow that the person receiving the most individual votes (popular vote) is not the person who wins necessarily. When you’re betting on the popular vote, you need to figure out who is most favored by the voters rather than who is going to earn the highest Electoral College count.

FAQ’s On Betting On The 2016 Presidential Election