Bettors See Biden as Winner in First Unpresidential Debate, Shares Reach Two-Month High on PredictIt
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Let’s just make one thing clear at the beginning. Tuesday night’s presidential debate was anything but presidential, which the Cambridge Dictionary defines as “suitable for a president or as is expected of a president, for example by being serious, calm, and deserving of respect.”
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest and violated the cardinal rule for writing a college entrance application essay, let’s look at how bettors reacted to the debate.
Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden ended Tuesday night with his shares on PredictIt trading at their highest point in two months. As of 12:15 am ET Wednesday morning, his shares were trading at 61 cents, up 2 cents from where he stood before debating President Donald Trump before a live audience in Cleveland in the nationally televised event, the first of three scheduled between the two men before the Nov. 3 general election.
As Biden bounces back up, support for Trump is starting to dip. His shares are at 42 cents, their lowest price since Aug. 5.
Tuesday also happened to be the highest volume trading day in the past 90 days in the presidential general election market. PredictIt reported 567,700 shares were traded Tuesday. The previous high in the past three months took place on Aug. 11, the day Biden announced California US Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice presidential pick. That day saw 534,000 shares exchanged.
Biden Gets Electoral College Bounce in PredictIt Markets
Biden didn’t just pick up support in the national market, PredictIt traders also flipped a couple of key battlegrounds after the debate concluded.
Prior to the debate, Biden held 290 Electoral College votes, based on how traders were holding each state. After the debate, Biden saw his tally grow to 306 after traders moved Maine’s second Congressional district and the state of North Carolina in his favor.
It’s a tenuous hold at best for the Democrats in both states as technically shares for both parties are trading at 51 cents each. However, Democratic shares are gaining momentum in both markets. On Friday, the Republicans had a 53-47 advantage in North Carolina, while the GOP enjoyed a 54-47 edge in Maine’s second district on that same day.
To win the election, a candidate needs to win 270 out of the 538 available Electoral College votes.
PredictIt traders weren’t the only bettors backing Biden. Across the pond, British-based exchange Smarkets saw Biden widen the gap between him and Trump after the debate ended.
Prior to the debate, Biden’s odds on the exchange were at -133 to Trump’s +140. The President got a little bump early as he was highly aggressive in confronting Biden and moderator Chris Wallace. However, as the debate continued, more action went toward the challenger.
By the end of Tuesday night ET, Biden’s odds shrunk to -152 to Trump’s +158.
Round 2 Next Week: Veep Show
As for the debate itself, there really were no highlights. The two candidates traded barbs and spoke over each other throughout the 90-minute event. Trump did most of the interrupting, although Biden also had his moments as well.
Trump at one point spoke about Biden’s son Hunter and his “cocaine use.” He also told an organization deemed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center to “stand back and stand by.” Biden told the President to “shut up” when Trump kept pestering him during a question.
Chris Wallace moderated the event, and the Fox News host eventually grew exasperated.
Gentlemen, I hate to raise my voice, but why should I be different than the two of you?” Wallace quipped.
The next debate takes place a week from Wednesday on Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City and will feature Harris and Vice President Mike Pence. The second of the three Trump-Biden presidential debates will take place Oct. 15 in Miami.
The post Bettors See Biden as Winner in First Unpresidential Debate, Shares Reach Two-Month High on PredictIt appeared first on Casino.org.
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