Betting on Politics – Is that a Real Thing?
Yes, betting on politics is a real thing and, much like sport, it can be a thrilling way to wager your money. With the UK and the world in such an unstable state right now, there are always calls for new ideas, representatives and political parties to be implemented, with democracy always seeing some groups with specific political allegiances left disappointed following an election.
Instead of simply being left to question what might have happened had all of the electorate turned out, you can instead try to use your own political knowledge to your advantage and try to make some money.
Importantly, University level political insight is not needed to bet on politics, as you can use your more standard betting knowledge to look at trends, polls and other information to bolster your knowledge, while this guide will also help to give you the information you need to confidently bet on politics.
Getting Started With Political Betting
In order to start betting on politics, you should do your due diligence as you would with any type of sports betting or otherwise. You will need to work out whether you have a particular niche, like UK betting or US betting, or whether you feel that you can make the most out of the abundance of politics betting opportunities. This will then allow you to bet on political events from around the world.
Next, you should try to develop a strategy for your betting. This can be one that you create yourself and could see you only betting on the politics in a certain country, a certain party or at a particular time (such as a long time before a General Election or just before it), for example. You could also look to utilise the betting strategies of certain betting sites too, as these will come from expert tipsters and, if you are keen to make the most out of the knowledge and expertise of a politics betting expert, then the next section of our guide will be exactly what you are looking for.
Politics Betting Strategies
When it comes to betting on politics, or anything for that matter, there are a number of different strategies you can employ. While this list is not exhaustive for betting on politics, it will provide you with a good base to build your strategy on, although you can choose to cherry pick the parts you feel will work best if needs be.
Get your bets in early
Getting your bet in early when it comes to politics is generally the best way to ensure there is value in the bet you are making. As an election approaches, the odds will get shorter and shorter to the point where, usually, one party is the big odds-on favourite to win, with any other possibility having far longer odds. While this will of course provide you with a hefty return should the outsider win, the chances of the underdog winning the election by this point would be very slim, as the odds suggest. Unlike sports betting, where there is every possibility that the underdog can win, in politics betting, if a party has very long odds, they should be backed with a huge amount of caution. Although it should also be mentioned that anything can happen on the day.
Don’t let you party preference cloud your judgement
Just like betting on sporting events, it is incredibly important to make sure that your own allegiances to a particular side do not ultimately cloud your judgement. You may be heavily aligned with a particular political party but, they may be something of an outsider in the betting when it comes to taking democratic control of the country. However, as an ardent supporter of this party, you may still decide to back them even when the polls and betting say this is a bad idea. Instead, try to remain impartial and unbiased when it comes to who you are backing with proper research helping you to form your thoughts and bets, rather than simply backing a person or party because they are your own personal favourite.
Research extensively
It is worth knowing that some new sources will not always cover the news in the same way as others due to their own political allegiances. While most outlets will likely cover the major news, perhaps their own political biases will see them covering it from a different angle that skews the news itself. This is why it is very important to ensure that when you are looking to do your own research into the news, how certain polls are looking or what the candidates and parties are doing, you should try to get a wide breadth of information from a number of sources that helps to give you a well-informed view and opinion. Bear in mind that while it is good to digest a lot of information, you should not trust everything you read.
Don’t write off the underdog
Now, we are fully aware of what we wrote earlier in this guide, but it stands to reason that anyone in the betting could realistically win. The very nature of gambling is predicated on uncertainty, and it means that the Liberal Democrats could pull off a major shock in the UK’s General Election, and they would therefore likely offer very good value if the result was that much of a shock. However, be aware of the fact that this sort of strategy works best when coupled with backing smaller victories. For example, instead of backing the major underdog in the General Election, you could back a minor candidate to win a particular area and gain seats in Parliament. If you do this right, then this type of betting strategy could allow you to find excellent value.
Keep the polls in mind
A poll is meant to provide an honest and accurate sample on the public’s opinion. However, these polls can be misrepresented to favour a particular candidate or party, while those conducting the polls can choose to ask specific participants in order to allow the poll to accurately represent a deliberately chosen portion of the population, rather than a completely random sample. They can therefore be used to have an impact on the public’s voting behaviour and can therefore be a very valuable tool. Much like when you choose to digest different news outlets, you should ensure that you are evaluating what a number of different polls tell you, rather than completely believing what one poll tells you.
Bet on elections you know and understand
It should go without saying, but many people will assume that it is possible to bet on elections that they know nothing about. If you live in a particular country, then you may have knowledge of how the political battle works without being an out-and-out expert on it. However, there will always be small nuggets of detail that you miss out on solely because you are not an expert. It is therefore vital that you either only focus on political betting that you have a decent knowledge of, or you do enough research to swell your own knowledge or plug any gaps that you may have. After all, if you only ever bet on the football and then decide to go to bet on tennis having no prior knowledge whatsoever, then you will likely really struggle to back winning bets. There is little difference between doing betting across sports and living in the UK and betting on US politics having never actually researched it.
Don’t focus entirely on winner markets
It can be very tempting to completely focus on betting on only winner markets when it comes to betting on politics. This is because most people will know who the major candidates are and the party they represent. However, as previously mentioned, there is a lot of value to be found in betting on smaller matters away from the overall winner. For example, you could have done extensive research into the political battle happening in your own constituency, or one close by. This research and knowledge you have could see you deciding to bet on something of an upset, and it could carry with it the chance of turning your initial bet into a big win.
Away from standard next Prime Minister betting, you will be looking at next Conservative leader, next Labour leader, year of General Election, no confidence vote triggered, London Mayoral election, overall majority, most votes, the gender of the next leader and many more.
Of course, the markets we have mentioned above have a very large skew towards British politics, but the betting markets for politics in the USA and other countries will be similar, although with some obvious differences to cater for parties, politicians and so on.
Don’t check polls and facts based on your political preference
This is a very important point to take on board when it comes to betting on politics. You should not ever solely do research into polls and facts that have a huge skew and only leans towards your own political preference as this would be a huge waste of time on your part. Instead, you have to do enough research with a breadth of news outlets to try to paint a more well-rounded picture for yourself. As mentioned above, news outlets and polls will usually have a direction they lean towards and so will not give you the whole picture. By reading outside of your preferred outlets, you can bolster your own knowledge which will only help you to make more informed bets.
Best Betting Sites for Placing Bets on Politics
Many betting sites will offer you the chance to bet on politics, but some are better than others. At the time of writing, Bet365, Sky Bet, Paddy Power, William Hill, Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet, Coral, BoyleSports and many more all had the ‘Next Prime Minister’ betting odds available for customers, with this usually seen as the most popular market, such is the nature of politics.
However, of these bookmakers, we feel the best are Bet365 and Paddy Power. The duo offers a very good range of markets and competitive odds alongside excellent welcome offers, brilliant user interfaces and fantastic features that help to make their political betting section better than the rest.
Odds on Political Betting
At the time of writing, there are a number of very interesting betting markets that you can wager on. These include the likes of next Prime Minister (UK), next President (USA) and more. Below, we have compiled just a taster of the current betting markets, candidates and their odds, with all odds correct at the time of writing (correct as of 15:15 GMT on 8/2/2022).
Next British Prime Minster Odds:
- Rishi Sunak – 6/4
- Lizz Truss – 7/1
- Jeremy Hunt – 8/1
- Tom Tugendhat – 8/1
- Keir Starmer – 9/1
All odds provided by SportNation.
US Presidential Election 2024 Odds:
- Donald Trump – 3/1
- Joe Biden – 9/2
- Ron DeSantis – 13/2
- Kamala Harris – 15/2
- Mike Pence – 14/1
All odds provided by William Hill.
Boris Johnson General Election Betting Odds:
- To NOT be a Tory leader at next General Election – 1/5
- To be Tory leader at next General Election – 10/3
All odds provided by 888.
As you can see from the above, you can wager on the standard Prime Minster/Presidential markets with a number of candidates all available. Alongside this, you can wager on far more specific markets, like the Boris Johnson General Election market, with many bookmakers offering different and more niche betting markets to their customers.
Betting on Presidential Elections
Betting on the Presidential Elections is one of the most intriguing ways to bet on politics. The last few elections in particular have been very interesting and betting on them will have provided so many twists and turns to keep all kinds of bettors interested. Of course, as mentioned earlier, ensure that you have good knowledge of US politics before you bet on it or that you have found political betting tips that you trust.
Much like British politics, you will be met by a string of different betting markets. It is worth going through these different markets carefully as the smaller battles could ultimately be where the real value betting can be found.
What are the Most Popular Political Betting Markets?
In UK politics, the most popular betting markets will tend to centre around the Prime Minister and the General Election. These are huge events in British life and so, even if people do not have much of an interest in politics on a daily basis, it will draw in a huge proportion of the population. Alongside these markets, you can look at the mayoral elections in London, smaller constituencies and different political props bets. Honestly, there is an impressive range of betting options when it comes to political betting, which allows you to really utilise your own political knowledge. For the US political betting markets, you can bet on anything from the House of Representatives election winner, the Senate results and a lot of other outright markets relating to the winner in specific states. While sports may usually take the headlines when it comes to betting on a sportsbook, the political offering with most bookmakers is truly impressive.
Conclusion
Betting on politics has never been easier to do and, honestly, it is a very enjoyable way to wager your cash. Of course, politics may not be for everyone, especially when it comes to listening to two people refuse to answer even the simplest of questions with a straight answer, but betting on who will be the next PM, or who could become next mayor of London can be a thrilling experience, especially if the betting is very tight.
As mentioned above, a good strategy is vital with political betting, and you should ensure that you conduct a wide range of reading to supplement your knowledge. This also ensures that you are not only digesting news and views from one political standpoint, as this can often see the information you read brought to you with a biased skew.
Ultimately, if you do your research and follow a strategy, betting on politics can be a very exciting way to wager your money and, who knows, it could even replace sports betting as your favourite way to gamble.