One of the fastest growing segments for sportsbooks and bettors in the modern-day betting world is gambling on politics. With the increasing growth of technology and political positions, betting on politics—which was previously a rarity—has now become a popular and serious market with more and more punters embracing the idea and turning to sportsbooks to wager on various political events and outcomes. Below you will find a succinct guide to online betting on politics around the world.
A Close Look At Betting On Politics Around The World
Types of Political Bets
Given the fact that political bets are simplistic in nature when compared to other forms of sports bets, most sportsbooks only offer two types of bets; Straight Up Bets and Money Line Bets. Like in usual sports betting, straight up bets entails selecting who will win a given political bet. In Money line bets, one places a wager on how much a certain political candidate would win by. For example, in a congressional race, one would wager on the money lines for a candidate to win at least 70% of the votes.
Best Political Events
Because there is always some sort of election nomination going on around the world, political bets come in a wide variety. The most popular of these political bets, though, is the US Presidential race that often attracts a large following across the world, right from the nominations to the actual elections. With so much media coverage about the USA Presidential elections, it is easy to find information about the candidates and parties to bet on, making it arguably the best political event to wager on.
In the 2016 US Presidential Elections, for example, you will find sportsbooks offering bets such as Winning Party, Democratic Presidential Nomination, Republican Presidential Nomination, Democrat Vice Presidential Candidate and Republican Vice Presidential Candidate, among others.
Other popular political bets across the world include the US Congressional Elections and the Prime Minister Elections in the United Kingdom, though you can always find tons of political events and issues to gamble on, depending on what suits you.
Tips for Success in Gambling on Politics
Find the Right Site and Best Odds: Using odds comparison sites, you can easily find the best odds on the political market you are interested in and plan your bets accordingly. Also, when scoping for best odds, be on the lookout for sites that have offers and bonuses to their clients.
Use the Media to Your Advantage: Success in political betting greatly depends on issues such as popularity of a candidate, external factors like scandals and death, and marketing campaigns. And there is no better place for you to keep track of such factors than the media, which usually gives instant updates on your candidates and their competitors on a regular basis. Through the internet or news programs such as CNN and BBC will keep you well-informed, thus ensuring that you make an informed decision in your bet.
Keep Your Eye on Favorites, But don’t Overlook the Underdogs: A good number of times, popular candidates and parties win political events, but that is not always the case in every event. This can be exemplified by the 2008 US presidential elections where most people believed that Hillary Clinton (as the popular candidate) would win the Democratic Party primaries, only for the less-known Barrack Obama to come out on top and go all the way to win the eventual presidential elections that year.
