As an alternative to interpreting infinite United States election polls and the opinions of dozens of media pundits, why not bet on the election yourself?

Odds Shark began tracking 2020 presidential betting odds when they first opened last summer and explained how to bet on politics during this election cycle and several before it.

Way back on July 11, 2019, President Donald Trump was the favorite to win, while Democratic Senator Kamala Harris enjoyed the second-best odds. Harris’ strong performance in the first Democratic debate knocked former vice-president Joe Biden’s odds to win the 2020 election down to 6-to-1 at the time.

Now, Biden is a slight -130 favorite to win the 2020 U.S. presidential election, with Trump coming back at +110. Harris will be Biden’s running mate after the former Delaware senator chose her to be his vice-presidential candidate, while Mike Pence will once again be Trump’s VP.

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2020 U.S. Presidential Election Odds

Please check our updated 2020 election odds tracker from Bovada that shows how the presidential favorites’ chances to win have changed over the past few months.

2020 Presidential Odds Tracker

How can betting odds predict the next POTUS? Check out our How to Bet on the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election article to learn more about political betting. Read Here

As we know, 2020 election odds have endured shakeup after shakeup in the months since. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Bernie Sanders were all once the favorite to become the Democratic presidential nominee. Now, they’ve all endorsed Democratic presidential favorite Joe Biden.

While the contestants in the Democratic field jockeyed for position, President Trump remained the favorite to win the 2020 election with odds soaring near -200 (aka 1-to-2) shortly after his impeachment trial ended.

That was then. The new normal, from everyday life to presidential betting odds, is quite different. As the world continues to grapple with a coronavirus pandemic, Biden and Trump are the favorites to win the 2020 election this November.

2020 Presidential Election Odds Chart Candidate Current Sept. 18 Sept. 16 Sept. 10 Sept. 4 Sept. 2 August 31 August 21 August 17 August 12 August 4 July 31 July 19 July 3 June 27 June 22 June 17 June 4 June 3 May 27 May 20 May 13 May 6 April 29 April 22 April 15 April 8 April 2 March 28 March 18 March 16 March 14 March 8 Mar 4 Feb 27 Feb 13 Feb 5 Feb 4 Jan 29 Jan 21 Jan 14 Jan 7 Joe Biden -130 -130 -115 -120 -115 -105 -115 -135 -145 -160 -165 -170 -150 -160 -140 -130 -120 -110 +105 +120 +130 +130 +135 +120 +125 +125 +140 +140 +130 -105 -105 +115 +125 +160 +2000 +1600 +850 +600 +550 +450 +550 +400 Donald Trump +110 +110 -105 EVEN -105 -115 -105 +115 +125 +135 +140 +145 +135 +140 +120 +115 EVEN EVEN -115 -120 -120 -120 -120 -120 -125 -125 -120 -115 -115 -105 EVEN -115 -130 -150 -180 -170 -150 -140 -135 -140 -145 -115 Hillary Clinton +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +4000 +4000 +2500 +2200 +2200 +2000 +4000 +5000 +5000 +6000 +6600 +6600 +5000 +5000 +6000 +10000 +6000 +8000 +6600 +5000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +4000 +4000 Michelle Obama +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +5000 +5000 +5000 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Bernie Sanders OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB +2500 +1800 +3000 +4000 +3000 +2500 +1600 +1200 +275 +375 +425 +350 +250 +500 +500 +700 Mike Pence +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +8000 +6000 +6600 +6600 +5500 +5500 +8000 +8000 +9500 +5000 +6000 +6000 +6000 +5000 +5000 +5000 +6000 +6000 +4000 +3000 +2800 +20000 +20000 +12500 +15000 +12500 +12500 +12500 +12500 +8000 +8000 +8000 Andrew Cuomo +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +10000 +8000 +10000 +8000 +6000 +5000 +4000 +3000 +3000 +3300 +3300 +2200 +1000 +2200 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Nikki Haley +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +12500 +12500 +12500 +15000 +20000 +20000 +20000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +10000 +10000 +10000 OTB +10000 +10000 +20000 +50000 +30000 +20000 +15000 +15000 +15000 +10000 +10000 +10000 Kanye West +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +10000 +6600 OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB OTB

Odds as of September 23 at Bovada

Why Betting Odds Matter with U.S. Elections

If United States voters learned one thing following the 2016 election, it’s that presidential polling should be taken with a boulder-sized grain of salt.

The voluminous amount of polling data shared by the media all but guaranteed Hillary Clinton would win the presidency and she didn’t. Donald Trump flipped the script with the biggest political upset in history and if you were one of the select few who saw value on oddsboards in the days leading up to the November 2016 election, a significant profit could be made.

Trump’s odds to win the 2016 election were near 5-to-1 the day before the election. Wagering on political outcomes seems a lot more enjoyable, and financially wise, than arguing with strangers on social media.

What Do the Numbers Mean?

For those new to 2020 election odds, the numbers can be a little confusing. Odds Shark’s odds calculator is a great tool to help translate who will win the 2020 election into implied probabilities. For example, at -130, Joe Biden’s implied probability to win the 2020 election would be 56.52 percent and President Trump’s at +110 odds would be 47.62 percent. Trump had -180 odds, or 64.29 percent implied probability, to win the election during the last week of February.

These fluctuating market prices are set by both online oddsmakers like Bovada and BetOnline and the betting public. It’s obvious that Trump’s early dismissive public comments about coronavirus caused bettors to start wagering on Biden. With money coming in on the former vice-president, political betting sites adjusted Trump’s odds. Cause and effect.

Over the past few years, bookmakers’ election odds prices have been referenced by industry experts and pollsters like FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver as an additional layer of data to help with their projection models.

How to Bet on the Presidential Election

If you believe President Trump, Joe Biden or a dark-horse candidate will win the presidency, a 2020 election prop bet is a great way to showcase your political expertise.

An example of a political prop bet is as simple as “Who will win the 2020 election: Donald Trump or Joe Biden?” Other examples are “Who will Biden select as his vice-presidential candidate?” and “Which party will win the 2020 election popular vote: Democratic or Republican?”

How to Read Election Prop Odds

After you decide which political prop to wager on, first-time bettors need to understand what the odds mean.

Here’s a specific example:

Who will win the 2020 presidential election?

Candidate Odds Donald Trump -105 Joe Biden +120 Bernie Sanders +400

The -105 means that if you wagered $105 on Trump and he won the 2020 election, you’d win $100 and recoup your original $105 bet. With Joe Biden at +120, that means if you wager $100 on Biden and he wins the election, you win $120 and recoup your original $100 bet. Bernie Sanders at +400 is another way of writing 4-to-1, so a $100 winning bet would collect $400.

In short, the plus (+) symbol means that specific bet/option is considered an underdog, while the minus (-) symbol before a number indicates that option is a favorite to win the bet. As always, if you’d also like to review the implied probability of any odds, be sure to check out our odds calculator.

2020 Election Handicapping

Odds Shark has also compiled a comprehensive list of 2020 Presidential Election Betting Props for bettors if they want to look at more options than just “Who will win the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.”

While picking the winner of the 2020 United States election is the most popular prop bet to wager on, dozens of exotic props, specials and futures pop up on oddsboards in the months leading up to November 3. Some prop bet specials examples include:

Will Donald Trump complete his first term?

Will Democrats have a brokered convention?

Who will win the 2020 Electoral College vote?

Who will win the popular vote?

Which party will win the popular vote?

Which party will gain control of the House of Representatives?

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