US election betting odds: Biden replaces Trump as favourite to win

Bookies see Donald Trump’s chances of re-election fading after Joe Biden secures key states

Odds have shortened on Joe Biden entering the White House as the Democratic challenger and president Donald Trump await the results of an unprecedented election campaign.

As of 2pm on Friday (UK time), Oddschecker showed online gambling company Bet365 was offering Mr Trump a 14/1 chance of winning re-election after Mr Biden took the lead in the swing states of Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, other companies showed similarly poor odds for the president, with SkyBet and Betfair offering 10/1 for Mr Trump and PaddyPower and Betfred offering 9/1.

The odds for Mr Biden were 1/20 from SkyBet and PaddyPower, and 1/40 from Betfair.

While national polls had predicted a landslide for Mr Biden, in reality the results were a lot closer in some states than Democrats had hoped.

But the odds on Mr Trump securing a second term lengthened significantly as his opponent won key battlegrounds such as Wisconsin and Michigan.

“After a rollercoaster 24 hours, it looks like Donald Trump's prospect of re-election is finally starting to fade significantly as his route to victory narrows again,” said Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom.

Follow live: 2020 election results, updates and analysis

A record $609m (£466m) has been bet on the outcome of the winner on Betfair Exchange as of Wednesday night. Of that money $318m (£244m) went on Mr Biden and $290m (£222m) on Mr Trump. 

The 2016 presidential election also saw a record number of people place bets, as $258m (£198.7m) was spent gambling on the contest between Mr Trump and Hillary Clinton on Betfair Exchange.

Mr Rosbottom said: “The 2020 election is on course to become the biggest single betting event of all time.”

2020 US presidential election winner odds

As of 2pm on Friday, Oddschecker showed that Mr Biden was the clear favourite, with a few states left to be decided.

Mr Biden had odds of 1/20, and President Trump 14/1. 

Winning party odds

The Oddschecker site, as of Friday morning, had Democrats at 4/7; Republicans 7/5 and independents with the long shot odds of 250/1.