A little flutter

I’m not much of a gambler, but I do like to put my money where my  mouth is. A few months out from the 2016 US election I looked up the odds on The Donald winning and was surprised that the best I could get was 4/1 against. I didn’t place the bet in the end as, from the way the press were covering things, I’d been expecting something like 20/1 against at least.

This time around I decided do it anyway. The best odds on a Trump win any British bookie is offering is now 6/4 against, much shorter even than last time. Those odds have just shortened from 7/4. The bet I’ve placed is for him not just to win but to win with a bigger electoral college vote than last time. I’ve bet a tenner and stand to win a measley £35 if he does it.

I managed to find a bookie that is taking bets on Biden not being the Democrat candidate on election day (all the others are only taking bets of him getting the nomination, not the same thing). I put another £10 on that and will get £55 if he gets swapped for a newer model after the Convention but before November.

So, despite all the sound and fury signifying nothing in the media, the bookmakers, who actually stand to lose money if they’re wrong, are making Biden rhe favourite, but are being very careful and Trump’s odds are much much shorter than they were back in 2016. They’re even being pretty cautious about creepy, sleepy uncle Joe’s chances of even making the starting line….

I don’t stand to win much but it would buy a round of drinks in the pub, and it would be very, very sweet to tell my Guardian reading friends just where the money had come from!