Martin Rogers

USA TODAY Sports

Donald Trump’s chances of winning the Republican nomination and becoming president have increased significantly, according to British oddsmakers.

The price on Trump securing the Republican ticket is now hovering around even money (1-to-1) with most UK gambling institutions, meaning that a $10 bet would return $10, plus the initial stake.

Trump is priced at around 3-to-1 and is second favorite to replace Barack Obama as president, with Hilary Clinton the favorite at .88-to-1 with the Ladbrokes betting company.

Coral, another major outlet, is most confident among its competitors of a Trump victory. It has priced Trump at .80-to-1 to represent the Republicans in the general election, and 2.75-to-1 for the presidency.

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Late last year, Trump could be backed at 4-to-1 or better to become president.

However, as Trump's campaign has shown few signs of losing momentum, the odds have shortened, while the endorsement of the real estate and business mogul by Sarah Palin was also seen as a boost in the gambling market.

Most of Trump’s gains have come at the perceived expense of Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who were nearly parallel with Trump in the market towards the end of 2015.

Now, however, they are well back in the field. Bookmaker Paddy Power has Rubio as a presidential 5.5-to-1 shot and third favorite in the overall market. Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders is behind him at 7-to-1, while Cruz is a long shot at 20-to-1, level with Jeb Bush. Potential independent candidate Michael Bloomberg is at 25-to-1.

American oddsmakers are forbidden from offering prices on elections, but the interest in Britain has dwarfed that of any previous political event.

Much of that has to do with Trump and his polarizing campaign.

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“If you’re still as certain as you were six months ago that Trump has no chance of making it to the White House, then there’s incredible value in (betting against him),” said Ian Noctor, head of communications for Matchbook, an online betting exchange. “When Trump announced his intention to run, some of our bettors were so convinced he was a no hoper they were betting ($143) to win a single pound back.

"Now bettors are laying around ($6.46) to win the same amount. This boost in the market, likely driven by the media hype around Trump’s chances of winning Iowa, has provided a great opportunity for bettors to cash in.”

The British betting community has become so invested in the campaign that additional markets have emerged. Most leading organizations now also offer prices on a variety of outcomes.

Ladbrokes is taking bets on Trump’s share of the Iowa caucus vote, with the most likely outcome seen at a 30%-to-35% result, priced at 1.5-to-1.

Paddy Power has Sanders an overwhelming 0.17-to-1 favorite to defeat Clinton in New Hampshire, while Trump is 0.25-to-1 to win in the same state, ahead of John Kasich at 6-to-1.