Betting the 2008 Presidential Propositions
Betting on politics has long been prohibited in the United States, but the growth in online sportsbooks will no doubt have a number of Americans who are backing their favorite candidate in more ways than just at the polling booth. Presidential betting has been available online for a number of years, and the 2008 race between Barack Obama and John McCain is no exception.
Political gamblers not only have the option of betting on the winner of the election, but more and more sportsbooks are letting gamblers place bets on other aspects of the election.
Bettors have to act fast on propositions, as a number of them have been taken down in the past week, due to the recent turmoil on Wall Street, which has given a huge boost to the Obama campaign. The current odds are Obama -300 (wager $300 to win $100), while McCain is +200 (wager $100 to win $200).
One proposition wager that bettors can still make at Intertops is on voter turnout. The over/under number is 60-percent, so bettors can wager that more than 60-percent of eligible voters will vote in the election or that less than 60-percent of eligible voters will partake in the election process. Those betting the over are asked to risk $130 to win $100, while those who wager on the under are being asked to wager $110 to win $100.
Not since 1968 has voter turnout been over 60-percent, but there was an upward trend between 2000 and 2004, as voter turnout climbed from 51.3-percent to 55.3-percent. Oddsmakers are counting on a similar increase this year, as well as a number of voters unhappy with the Bush Administration to hit the polls in large numbers.
From a betting standpoint, however, it's important to remember that casinos weren't built by offering bad wagers and there may be some hope for the over to sneak in by a narrow margin.
Those betting the over would also want to see McCain make a bit of a dent in the latest polls, as complacency could rear its head if Obama was thought to be a sure thing come election day.
Still, the potential for a solid wager is there as long as bettors are willing to do a bit of information digging in the days leading to the election.
