While the federal government has done all it can to stomp out online gambling, overseas betting houses have been laying down odds and taking bets on U.S. political races for years.
Betting on politics in Vegas, is illegal. The state of Nevada outlawed betting on federal elections in 2014.
However, with a few clicks of the mouse and a few tricky funds transfers, political enthusiasts can bet big on the election . . . and the payouts are enticing.
Here are the latest odds in the race for the GOP nomination from the U.K. gambling site, totesport:
- Donald Trump: 1/1
- Marco Rubio: 9/4
- Ted Cruz: 6/1
- Jeb Bush: 9/1
- Chris Christie: 28/1
- John Kasich: 40/1
- Ben Carson: 100/1
- Carly Fiorina: 200/1
- Rand Paul: 250/1
- Mike Huckabee: 250/1
Note that Paul Ryan has locked in better odds than Fiorina, Paul and Huckabee at 150/1.
U.K. odds makers either know something we don’t know or are slipping on their odds as placing Cruz at 6/1 seems like a bad bet for the house. A $100 bet on Cruz would pay out $600 if the Canadian-born senator were to win the GOP nomination.
As for Trump, betting on the billionaire just doesn’t pay with the favorable odds. A $100 bet would yield $100.
A bet on Trump would still perform better than putting dollars down on Hillary Clinton who holds 1/6 odds over Sander’s 7/2 odds. As in life, a $100 online bet with Hillary would empty your pocketbook and payout only $16.67.
While those open to gambling would be smart to bet on Cruz, the action may be condemned by the candidate. Cruz has been attempting to win the support of Sheldon Adelson who has been unabashedly using corporate cronyism to kill online competition (Adelson owns brick-and-mortar casinos). If pushed, Cruz is likely to side with Adelson to curry favor.
On the other hand, Trump wants no limits on online gambling as the United States is, in his opinion, losing out to foreign corporations who dominate the online gaming industry due to federal regulations.
