Do you get tired of debating politics with people who just don’t seem to get it? Well, instead of talking in circles with your acquaintances, you can put your money on the line with online political betting. Political betting not only rewards you for keeping up with politics, but it makes the whole subject much more interesting.
Political betting is on the rise around the world now that the internet has made it easy to access real-money sportsbooks. In days past, betting on politics was mostly limited to casual wagers among friends. Today, politics junkies can get serious with their wagers and turn it into an actual hobby.
Wagering On Politics And Elections Online
Most political betting today is done at online betting sites. In most cases, you can visit your betting site and find a little section dedicated to betting on political events. The exact bets you can find change from one sportsbook to the next, but most sportsbooks stick with major political events that have worldwide implications.
Betting sites set up their political bets just like they do with any other sport. Many political bets take the form of “futures” bets, in which the goal is to predict which candidate will win an upcoming election. The payout odds for these types of bets depend on each candidate’s perceived chances of winning the election.
Candidates who are seen as underdogs are offered substantially higher payouts than mainstream candidates. The payouts are displayed next to the name of each candidate. The most common odds format at political betting sites is the fractional system.
Here’s an example:
To Win the 2013 Election
Barack Obama: 2/3
Ron Paul: 10/1
Sarah Palin: 12/1
These fractional odds are pretty easy to read once you get the basic idea. Ron Paul and Sarah Palin are both seen as underdogs, so they are receiving payouts of 10 to 1 and 12 to 1. This means that if you wager $10 on Ron Paul, you stand to win $100 if he manages to win the election.
Barack Obama is currently viewed as the favorite in this bet, so he is only offering payout odds of 2/3. This means that you have to risk more money for a smaller payout. Obama is getting these odds because, at the time of this bet, he is considered the most likely to win the election.
Elections only represent one type of political bet. Many other political events can be bet upon using many different methods. You can check with your online betting site to find out which types of bets are currently being offered.
Political Betting Sites
Two different types of political betting sites can be used to place real money wagers. One type of political betting site is the typical sportsbook. Many sportsbooks have special sections that are dedicated to politics-related wagers. If you have an account at one of these sites, you can place your political bets just like you would place your sports bets.
The second type of political betting site is the prediction market. These sites let you buy and sell positions like the stock market. Prediction markets are fairly popular because they offer many different types of bets. Interestingly, prediction markets have been proven to be highly effective at predicting the actual outcome of upcoming political events.
Political Betting Tips
The single most useful tip for political betting is to remember to make a distinction in your mind between your political beliefs and what will happen. Do not place wagers based on who you think should win the election. Place your wagers based on the odds of each candidate and how likely that candidate is to win the election.
This may sound like painfully obvious advice, but it’s important to keep it in mind. Few subjects can turn logic upside-down and inside-out like politics can. Make it a sticking point in your mind that the goal of political betting isn’t to be right about politics, it is to predict the future.
One other piece of advice we recommend is to do your research to decide if the payout odds are in line with the actual odds of that event taking place. For example, you may not want to blindly wager on the favorite every time because that person’s odds may have been pushed down below profitability due to so many people wanting to place the same bet.
