The US election is set to smash records on UK betting sites.
More than £110 million ($136 million) had been traded on who will become the next US president on UK-based Betfair, the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling company. It stands a good chance of breaking the all-time Betfair record of £127 million, set by the Brexit vote in June. Around £10.5 million traded in the final weekend before Election Day, with 75% of all money traded backing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Clinton is currently trading at 1.20 on Betfair, giving her an 83% chance of being elected according to those odds. In 2012, president Barack Obama was trading at 1.31 the day before election day, giving him around 76% chance of becoming president. There’s far less enthusiasm for Republican Donald Trump, who is trading at 5.80, with a 17% chance of being elected.
So, who would even bet on the Republican? Trump has support from the British people who bet Britain would leave the European Union. These so-called Brexitors are doubling down and putting money on Trump to emerge as the unlikely new US president, according to Betfair.
Other UK-based betting sites are seeing a dramatic spike in bets. Paddy Power, which merged with Betfair earlier this year, has had about $4.38 million bet on the race so far. The US election is the second-biggest betting event this year on Ladbrokes, according to a statement by the UK betting company. There have been more wagers placed on the US presidency than the Euro 2016 soccer final, the EU referendum, or the Epsom Derby horse race. Ladbrokes expects 35 bets per minute to be placed in the run up to the final result.
The biggest wager placed so far on Ladbrokes was a £100,000 bet on Clinton winning the election. The customer is set to win £125,000 if the prediction is correct, for a net gain of £25,000. If Trump wins, a customer who placed a £200 wager on him at the current 150/1 Ladbrokes odds will walk away with £30,200.