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The CleanFinancial.com guide to political spread betting.

Where to Spread Bet on the UK General Election?


A number of firms offer spread betting on a range of political events such as the outcome of elections and referendums.
  • Sporting Index
Editor's Comment: Note that other companies may provide similar political markets.

Politics Analysis & News


DateTrading Update
08-Jun-17[12:30pm]

Election Day: Time to Pick the Best of a Bad Bunch


Just had a chat with the Financial Spreads dealing desk, they will be running their election markets until midday tomorrow.
They are also taking big bets with clients on for +£100/seat... that puts my £5/seat bet to shame.
Although, note that they are now only taking trades over the phone.
Exit Polls at 10pm Tonight
Ipsos MORI plans to publish its exit poll at 10pm, the poll covers 20,000 people in +100 constituencies.
It's certainly not 100% accurate but there could be a healthy move in the FTSE 100, EUR/GBP and GBP/USD (and election markets) as the poll is announced.
Election Markets Open Until Midday 9 June?
Apparently so.
Although, as the results become clearer, the market will settle down and the width of the spreads could easily cover the result... i.e. you'll lose whether you buy or sell
90 Seat Conservative Majority?
With 650 seats in parliament and the current market at 370 Conservative seats that suggests Mrs May will end up with a healthy 90 seat majority.
Seems toppy.
If 90 seats is indeed realistic, just imagine what her majority would have been with a well run campaign...
Prices as of 12.30pm, 8 June 2017:

07-Jun-17[5:30pm]

Conservatives Up 10 Seats Since Yesterday


The seats markets for the Conservative party and Labour party remain fluid.
The Tories are up 10 seats on yesterday's quote, i.e. they've climbed to 371 - 375 from 361 - 365.
Labour have dropped to 195.5 -199.5 from 202 - 206
The SNP seats quote has barely moved for the last month.
There's little love for the Lib Dems although I've just had a small buy of their seats @ 12.
They currently have 9 MPs and so I think the downside is limited... although judging by Tim Farron's election campaign... the upside is looking pretty limited too. I could well lose on the width of the spread.
Financial Spreads as of 5.30pm, 7 June 2017:

Update by Jacob Wood, Editor,
06-Jun-17[6:18pm]

Spread Betting Arbitrage Opportunity


These are rare and looks like the firms are evening up their books.
As of 6.10pm:
Arbitrage 1) Labour Seats Arb
Buy Labour seats @ 203.5 with Financial Spreads
Sell Labour seats @ 208 with IG
= 4.5pt Arb
Arbitrage 2) Conservative Seats Arb
Buy Conservative seats @ 361 with IG
Sell Conservative seats @ 365 with Financial Spreads
= 4pt Arb
06-Jun-17[1:30pm]

The Highest Seats Quote Yet for Labour


Labour Seats are currently trading at 202 to 206, a little off their earlier highs of 205 to 209.
There's still no respite for the Tories or Lib Dems. Neither party seems to be getting much love (see prices below).

More Activity in the Political Spread Betting Markets


A few weeks ago, the prices might only change about once a day... if you look at the hourly charts now, you'll see more frequent price moves.
That would suggest that these markets are seeing more trades (and they're no longer just a PR market for the spread betting companies).

General Election Price Update


Financial Spreads: 1.45pm, 6 June 2017:

Update by Jacob Wood, Editor,
05-Jun-17[12:18pm]

Election Market Update


Firstly, and putting all the nonsense of punting on election markets to once side, after another shocking attack in London on Saturday, our sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones, been hurt other or are otherwise suffering.
Conservatives Improve
It's sombre morning here in the office but here's a quick price update from Financial Spreads, Sporting Index and Spreadex - see screenshots below from 11.30am, 5 Jun.
The Conservative party, who are normally the 'law and order party', have gone up 7 seats from Friday's quote of 363 - 367 seats to 370 - 364.
In the seesaw between the two main parties, Labour has lost most of those seats dropping 199 - 203 to 194.5 - 198.5.

Caution: Wide Spreads


As usual with election betting, watch out for the wide spreads - Sporting Index and Spreadex are still offering markets with a 6 point spread on the main parties.
Financial Spreads are more reasonable with a 4 point spread but that's still not that tight.



01-Jun-17[4:22pm]

Big Bets Against Labour Party Seats


FinancialSpreads.com have said they've got some big trades against Labour including one client who's shorted Labour seats at 175 for a cheeky £500/seat.
I.e. their client will lose £500 for every seat that Labour gets above 175 and vice versa... they'll win £500 for every seat under 175.
E.g. if Labour get today's estimate of 201 seats, the person will lose = (201 - 175) x £500 = 26 seats x £500/seat = £13,000 loss.
E.g. if Labour get the 5 May estimate of 154, the person be down the pub after winning = (175 - 154) x £500 = 21 seats x £500/seat = £10,500 profit.
That's a pretty big bet.
The firm's max political bet size is actually £500/seat ... but you can also bet a more reasonable £1/seat. (You'll also get £1/seat with the other firms offering this market).
Update by Jacob Wood, Editor,
01-Jun-17[2:22pm]

Election Classic


Jeremy Corbyn is doing an election classic. He's promising the earth and the younger members of the electorate are lapping it up.
E.g. a simple Labour manifesto pledge
'We will start by bringing our railways back into public ownership
Labour will invest in a modern, integrated, accessible and sustainable transport system that is reliable and affordable.
That's all well and good but he seems to be forgetting that the trains were poor when they were run by the Government in the past... and the tax payer picked some very large bills in order to subsidise that poor service.
That's a problem for another day though... and at the moment the Labour party seems to have a new energy.

Impressive Labour Rebound


The Labour seats market has moved up by an impressive 50 seats.
I.e. from a low around 150 - 154 seats to the current spread of 199 - 203 seats.
Spread Betting General Election Price Update
Financial Spreads: 1.45m, 1 June 2017:

19-May-17[4:24pm]

Lib Dem Spread Betting Market Just Collapses


As the chart below testifies, the Lib Dem market is in freefall.
On 25 April they were forecast to get 29 - 31 seats, up from the 9 seats they currently have.
Prior to yesterday's TV debate, the spread had already crashed to 15 - 17 seats.
And now they've lost another 2 seats. That's careless.

UKIP Steady at Zero Seats


The market for UKIP seats market is holding steady around the 0.01 - 0.3 level.
I.e. the price suggests that Paul Nuttall's motley crew won't be getting any seats in the House of Commons this time around.
Who say's the electorate is stupid?
Update by Jacob Wood, Editor,
19-May-17[3:21pm]

Small Bounce Back for Jezza


Jeremy Corbyn's party is reaping the rewards of the Lib Dem collapse (or helping to cause it).
On 11 May Labour were trading at 150 - 154 (see story below).
It looks like his retro-manifesto has gone down well with the party faithful and many of the younger potential voters (who weren't alive in the '70s and don't realise top rate income tax hit a lose-lose 83%).
The Labour party seats market has now moved 20 seats higher to 170 - 174.
Their manifesto has some well intentioned ideas but it proves again that Jeremy Corbyn is as ill-suited to office as Donald Trump. Luckily, Corbyn's also as unelectable as Kinnock.
It's a shame the Labour party don't have a more Blairite candidate who can keep the Tory party in check.

UK Spread Betting Market Price Update


Financial Spreads: 3pm, 19 May 2017:

12-May-17[10:34am]

UK Election 2017 Price Update:


Below prices from Financial Spreads and IG.
There's been no discernable change in the prices despite the Labour Party draft manifesto leak.
Perhaps that says a lot about the current perception of the Labour party.
Financial Spreads: 9.30, 12 May 2017:

IG Prices: 9.30, 12 May 2017:

Also see, how to spread bet on the UK election.
Update by Jacob Wood, Editor,
12-May-17[10:33am] Important Note re: IG's Conservative Majority Market
IG's current price of 91 - 97 looks too good to be true.
For me, it's an easy buy @ 97...
But... on closer inspection, i.e. reading the market information, you will see the IG Conservative Majority market is not a 'seats' market.
It's basically a binary market. It will be either close at 0 if the Conservative's don't get a majority or 100 if they do get a majority.
As always, if something looks too good to be true with a market, re-check what you think you are trading.
Still Tempted?
If you buy at 97 the maximum you can win is 3x your stake (100-97=3).
That might still be tempting but note that you would lose 97 x your stake if the Tories don't get a majority.
That's a very nasty downside.
11-May-17[4:21pm]

2017 vs 2015 Election Market Nightmare for Labour


Jeremy Corbyn may have said 'I think we can spend too much time worrying about polls' but he's got to be a little concerned.
If he doesn't want to look at the polls then he certainly won't want to look at the spread betting markets.
It's interesting to look back at the 2015 'seats' markets when 'Red Ed' was considered 'unelectable' but you also had UKIP eating into much of the Conservative heartland.
A typical pre-election Conservative seats quote floated around the 280 - 286 level and a Labour party seats market would hover around 275 - 281.
The two main parties were pretty much even in the spread betting markets.
Labour is now about 250 seats behind:
General Election Seats 2015 Election
(Typical Spread)		2017 Election
(Typical Spread)
Conservative Seats 280 - 286 398-402
Labour Seats 275 - 281 150-154

Jezza might want to keep his head in the sand for a little longer.
10-May-17[3:21pm]

Good Political Betting Blogs


There are two different blogs that are worth looking at:
  • PoliticalBetting.com - plenty of short and sweet views along with poll updates
  • ElectoralCalculus.co.uk - less focused on spread betting but good for data

Update by Jacob Wood, Editor,
16-Mar-15[12:17pm] The latest update on our blog takes a look at what the upcoming UK budget might look like and the potential impact on sterling.
How Will the Budget Impact Sterling and the UK Economy?
13-Mar-15[2:48pm]

UK General Election Spread Betting Markets


As we head towards the last UK budget before the general election, Alastair McCaig from IG discusses the trading options available for those looking to take a position.
One new binary market asks whether Alex Salmond will be part of the next cabinet, whilst another considers whether there will be a second general election in 2015.

10-Mar-15[12:42pm]

How to Trade on FX Ahead of the UK General Election


In the run up to the election, IG asks Stephen Gallo, from BMO Capital Markets, about what elements to consider when attempting to capitalise on the political uncertainty inspired volatility in the foreign exchange markets.
Despite the ECB also producing its own QE programme, Mr Gallo believes that EUR/GBP will be supported by the £0.65 level.

19-Feb-15[9:15am]

UK Election Betting Update


Below, a quick look at how Spreadex is pricing up the market.
Note, if you are logging into your Spreadex account, you need to log into 'Sports' rather than 'Financials' to access these prices.
Interesting to see that UKIP are more likely to get an overall majority (100/1) than Nick Clegg's lot (500/1). Having said that, when fixed odds prices get to 100/1 they are pretty spurious to me.
It wouldn't be difficult to find a bookie offering odds of 100/1 or 500/1 for Elvis being found alive.
Realistic Overall Majority?
In a bar the other night I heard some of those clever lads at Goldman Sachs saying support for Labour and UKIP will drop significantly and the Conservatives would get an overall majority.
The market isn't forecasting that though.
For all the negative commentary around Red Ed, the spread on Conservative seats is 280 - 286, only a dash ahead of Labour's 275 - 281 seats.
That's way off the 326 seats needed for a majority.
The fixed odds 'No Overall Majority' is also priced at 1/5, so the current market suggests that we're in for another coalition.
Spread Betting Prices
General Election Seats Spread
Conservative Seats 280 - 286
Labour Seats 275 - 281
SNP Seats 36 - 39
Liberal Democrats Seats 25 - 28
UKIP Seats 5.5 - 7.5

Note: 650 seats available, the Speakers seat and seats in Northern Ireland do not count towards this market.
Binary Election Prices
Most Seats Binary Spread
Conservatives 55.5 - 62
Labour 38.4 - 44.5
UKIP 0 - 1
Liberal Democrats 0 - 0.2

Note: These binary trades make up (close) at 100 if the party is named as having the most seats, otherwise they make up at 0.
Fixed Odds Election Prices
Most Seats Fixed Odds
No Overall Majority 1/5
Labour Majority 14/1
Conservative Majority 9/2
UKIP Majority 100/1
Liberal Democrat Majority 500/1

Overall Majority Fixed Odds
Conservatives 8/13
Labour 5/4
UKIP 100/1
Liberal Democrats 500/1



UK General Election Spread Betting Example


In the run up to the UK's General Election on Thursday 8 June 2017 investors can speculate on the number of seats that each of the major parties... and UKIP... will win.
They can also speculate on voter turnout, the estimated turnout looks pretty miserable at around 62%.
Looking at FinancialSpreads.com you can spread bet on the number of seats that the Conservatives will win.
In this case, they have priced their Conservative Seats market at 397 - 401, i.e. suggesting that the Conservatives will win 397 - 401 seats.
Therefore, you could spread bet on the Conservatives winning:
More than 401 seats, or
Less than 397 seats
When spread betting on a 'Seats' market you are simply betting in £x per seat.
If you risked £5 per seat and the Conservative Seats market moved by 21 seats then that would alter your P&L by £105. £5 per seat x 21 seats = £105.

UK Election - Conservative Seats Example


Now, if you take the above spread of 397 - 401 and assume:
  • You've reviewed the polls, the news etc. and
  • You think that the Conservatives will get more than 401 seats at the election
Then you may decide to 'buy' the market at 401 and bet, let's say, £4 per seat.
If you 'buy' the market you will make a profit of £4 for every seat more than 401 that the Conservatives win.
Of course, such a bet also means that you will lose £4 for every seat that the Conservatives get less than 401.
Put another way, should you buy a spread bet then your profits (or losses) are calculated by taking the difference between the final price of the market and the price you bought the spread at. You then multiply that price difference by the stake.
If the Tories exceed expectations with a Tony Blair-like landslide and won 441 seats, you'd make a profit:
Profit = (Closing Price - Opening Price) x stake
Profit = (441 - 401) x £4 per seat stake
Profit = 40 x £4 per seat stake
Profit = £160 profit
Trading on financial markets, or political markets, is rarely straightforward.
In this example, you had bet that Theresa May's party would win more than 401 seats. Of course, they could disappoint on election night.
If Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party did better than expected, the Conservatives might only win 368 seats. If so, you would end up losing this trade.
Loss = (Closing Price - Opening Price) x stake
Loss = (368 - 401) x £4 per seat stake
Loss = -33 x £4 per seat stake
Loss = -£132 loss
Note: Conservative Seats market accurate as of 11- May-2017. Other firms may also offer this market.
'Political Spread Betting' edited by Jacob Wood, updated 08-Jun-17
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Political Spread Betting
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Wait, you can bet on politics?

Political
  • Bovada’s odds are the strongest for Trump. The Real Clear Politics betting average, as of Tuesday, calls it Biden 64%/Trump 35.1%. When it comes to polls, the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average.
  • RealClearPolitics - U.S. Presidential Election - Betting Odds.

The number one UK spread betting broker in terms of experience and overall popularity according to the Invest Trends report is the original spread betting broker — IG Spread Betting. You can compare the features of their award-winning proprietary web-based, mobile and tablet betting platforms here.

Yes, you can! In fact, since 2016, political betting has been one of the fastest-growing categories of the online betting industry and political betting odds are popping up all over. For Americans or anyone living in the USA, offshore betting is the only lawful option, as it is illegal for brick and mortar sportsbooks to offer any sort of politics betting. In Europe, however, this form of wagering is a well-established staple of their legalized betting culture.

Regardless, top-notch online political betting sites are available to everyone, no matter where you live. What’s most important is finding one that’s vetted, safe to use, and can be relied upon to provide handicappers with the best odds and markets consistently.

Top Sites for Betting on Politics

  • Bovada – One of the most widely recognized names in online wagers, they frequently offer the best political betting odds.
  • MyBookie – This site posts a broad range of creative political lines, including a selection of fun Donald Trump prop bets.
  • BetOnline – As a long-time industry leader in online bookmaking, it has lots of great political betting markets.
  • Betway – This is a UK-based bookmaker that holds licenses throughout Europe and offers a large selection of US and European political betting opportunities.

Our mission is to introduce new players to the world’s top political betting websites; however, the qualities that make an option the “best” for one player may not be the same for another. It’s all relatively subjective once you get past the fundamental attributes like safety, legitimacy, and ease of use. You can find out more about this further down on the page but first, lets jump into to different political betting options on the market.

We’ll introduce you to the exciting world of political wagering, including the top online oddsmakers, betting opportunities, and different ways to profit off handicapping our electoral process.

Political Betting Around the World

Everything from the online sportsbooks available in your region, to the political betting events in which you’re likely interested, will probably depend on your location or country of origin. In the United States, it’s illegal for licensed providers—brick and mortar and web-based bookmakers alike—to take odds on politics. This law was put into place to prevent the American electoral system from corruption.

However, it’s perfectly legal for US citizens to utilize offshore betting sites; they just won’t benefit from any government regulations, which makes finding trustworthy operators particularly crucial for Americans. The best political bookmakers accepting Americans will often cover foreign elections as well, but not as thoroughly as what’s going on in the United States.

In Europe, political betting is commonplace and easily accessible, both at land-based establishments and on the internet. For a player in the UK, using a licensed gaming website is a requirement, which gives the player increased protections and less reason to fret about the legitimacy of a site operator. Fortunately, European oddsmakers do a superb job at covering US political events in addition to their local lines.

Betting US Politics

No matter the country in which you live, United States political betting markets are the most popular on the internet. All of the top political betting sites offer a plenty of lines and odds, dealing with the US presidential elections, party primaries, congressional races, and a wealth of wagers relating specifically to President Donald Trump.

Political betting’s rapid growth is largely attributed to the 2016 election, in which Trump scored a shocking upset win over Hillary Clinton. Before that race, wagering on politics didn’t offer much value, because the polls were relatively accurate, and so the lines and odds shifted in response to the latest polling data.

2016 changed everything because it proved that:

  1. The pollsters and media were no longer reliable sources
  2. That major upsets were possible, which means there’s positive value out there for handicappers.

Today, you can bet on each individual state’s primary or caucus on the road to the two parties’ national conventions, the eventual nominees, how many times Donald Trump will tweet in a given day, whether he will be removed from office, and so much more!

Betting UK Politics

As we previously mentioned, betting on politics has been a normal fixture of UK odds boards for years. Similar to Trump’s victory in 2016, handicappers in England were treated to a massive upset of their own with the passing of “Brexit.” The substantial payouts and surprising result had the same impact across the pond, creating newfound interest in betting on politics.

Online sportsbooks in the UK treat residents to all sorts of creative lines, covering everything from the London mayoral election, to the next leaders of each major party, to the next general election. Bookies include options to bet on either the next winning party or next Prime Minister in the generals.

Betting French Politics

Many online political betting sites cover French elections and events as well. France’s presidential election takes place every five years, with the next race taking place in 2022. The current president is Emmanuel Macron, whose main opponent in two years will be Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party. Many European oddsmakers are already taking action on the electoral contest.

It’s also worth noting that France uses a two-round presidential election system, providing multiple opportunities on which to wager on the same race.

The Basics of Political Betting

As you know, the category of “political betting” covers a broad range of unique wager types and events. The most common are futures bets for presidential elections.

Sportsbooks will post political betting odds for the incumbent and a variety of potential nominees for the opposing party and set lines for them all. You pick who you believe will become the next president, and the bet is resolved on election night. But that’s only a small percentage of what the best political betting sites offer – check out the different types of wagers below.

Types of Political Bets

Moneyline

A moneyline bet deals with two possible outcomes; for example, “Which party will win the 2020 presidential election? Republicans or Democrats?” Often, despite having two possible options, the likelihood of either of them happening isn’t an equal 50/50 split.

So, moneyline odds set specific payouts for both sides. The “favorite” or result more likely to happen is expressed as a negative number, like –150. That means you must bet $150 on that side to win $100. The underdog has positive moneyline odds, such as +125. For every $100 you stake, you’ll earn $125.

More Electoral College Votes
Donald Trump -125
Bernie Sanders +105

Futures

Most political bets fall into the “futures” category. These are merely wagers that will be decided on a specific date in the future. They’ll often include a field of participants from which the bettor may choose. The 2020 presidential election (example displayed below) is considered a futures bet, for which you can pick Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and several others.

Odds to Win the 2020 Presidential Election

PoliticianBetting Odds
Joe Biden-135
Donald Trump+105
Mike Pence+10000
Hillary Clinton+10000
Michelle Obama+10000
Elizabeth Warren+15000
Nikki Haley+25000
Mark Cuban+50000
Kanye West+50000

Props

The “proposition” label covers a wide variety of bets. Any odds dealing with political outcomes beyond the usual electoral contests are considered a prop. For example, some online sportsbooks allow you to wager on current events like, “Will Donald Trump complete his first term in office as President of the US?” All of the political betting odds and lines dealing with Trump’s tweets and foreign policy decisions fit under the “prop bet” title as well.

Totals (Over-Unders)

Totals bets are when the oddsmakers set a line, dealing with how many times a specific occurrence will take place.

One sportsbook posted political betting odds on whether “Donald Trump will tweet over or under 13.5 times on Super Bowl Sunday.” The bettors then choose to either bet the “under” or “over.” If the President sent out 14 tweets or more, overs won. If he tweeted 13 or fewer times, bettors with the “under” profited.

Betting Presidential and General Elections

The most popular way to bet politics is by placing a few dollars on whichever candidate you predict will win an upcoming election. Since 2016, interest in the United States general election has skyrocketed around the globe.

If a long-shot reality TV host like Donald Trump could find his way into the White House, in the future, anything could happen! Expectations are that America’s 2020 presidential election will attract the most action globally of any political betting market in history.

The UK’s general elections to decide their Prime Minister is probably the second-most-significant event for wagering on politics. In 2019, Boris Johnson was the favorite when he defeated the Labour Party’s, Jeremy Corbin. Some of the more prominent European sportsbooks also cover elections in Ireland, France, and throughout the EU.

Party Primaries

While the general election in US politics is the “championship game,” the party primaries are akin to the regular season. Heading into 2020, Donald Trump is the incumbent on the Republican side, without a significant primary challenger. However, the Democrats have a very competitive race for the party’s nomination on their side of the aisle, with four or five viable candidates.

Not only can you wager on the eventual DNC nominee, but the best online political betting sites are also posting lines on each individual state. For example, the Iowa caucuses were the first statewide contest for pledged delegates. Pete Buttigieg ultimately won the most delegates and was thus awarded the victory as a slight underdog to Bernie Sanders.

The primaries offer the most valuable betting odds to handicappers due to the high variance in results and the volume of contests. They present 50 unique political wagering opportunities in the lead-up to the presidential elections. In years without an incumbent, that means 100 chances to bet on politics.

Congressional Elections

In the United States, the president serves a four-year term. Senators serve six-year terms, and members of the House of Representatives are given two-year terms, so there are significant electoral contests on which to wager every two years, minimum. Midterm elections are a crucial opportunity for political bettors, as they offer dozens of additional high-variance betting markets from which to profit.

Beyond the individual Senate and House races, the makeup of the two chambers of Congress will greatly influence other political odds. For example, if you had bet that Trump would be impeached and removed from office during his first term, you were closely following the 2018 midterms.

Betting

When enough House seats were flipped to Democrat to give them the majority, it was nearly guaranteed that the sitting president would eventually be impeached. However, they weren’t able to win a majority in the Senate, which is the chamber responsible for holding the impeachment trial and acting as jurors. As a result, Donald Trump was impeached but acquitted.

Political Spread Betting Meaning

Betting on Current Events

Thankfully, the growth of betting on politics odds has encouraged online sportsbooks to post new lines in the periods between elections. Oddsmakers have been known to set political odds on almost anything.

Sometimes, you can bet on whether or not a specific piece of legislation will pass. In other cases, you may see lines and odds on the next Supreme Court Justice appointed or how the United States will respond to recent foreign policy situations.

What’s important is that the top political betting sites keep handicappers that like to wager on politics busy during downtime.

Donald Trump Prop Bets

Nobody is more singularly responsible for the explosion of betting on politics than Donald Trump. Hate him or love him, he’s been the focus of everyone’s attention since his historic 2016 campaign that culminated with a monumental upset over Hillary Clinton at roughly 4-1 odds.

Since the current president is continually the most talked about man in America, the top online sportsbooks usually post an entire slate of Donald Trump propositions. This is where you’ll see the over/unders on his Twitter activities, odds on whether he’ll meet with different world leaders like Russia’s Putin or China’s Xi, and betting lines about impeachment.

Criteria for the Best Political Betting Sites

At TheSportsGeek, our team of internet gaming experts is continually reviewing new political betting sites to ensure our lists are always stocked with the best names in the business. We can’t promise that every recommendation will fit your unique preferences, but we can guarantee that any online sportsbook on our pages is safe, offers a variety of politics betting markets, and accepts a range of banking options.

That way, even if you decide a different online sportsbook might be a better fit, it won’t be because you were scammed or treated unfairly. Our reviewers make sure to protect our readers from fraudulent operators, so you can focus on the specific website details or, better yet, winning your election bets. Learn more about how we review and rank these websites by clicking on any of the criteria below.

Unlike sports betting, political events don’t come around as often. Most major elections around the world take place in four- or five-year cycles. That’s why the best political betting sites get creative with odds, covering a wide variety of situations and outcomes beyond the most prominent electoral contests.

For example, some websites set weekly proposition political odds dealing explicitly with Donald Trump. Here is an example of a Donald Trump prop bet:

You can wager on his volume of tweets, which renowned international terrorist he’ll capture or kill next, whether he’ll declare war, be impeached, and so much more. The more options they provide to handicappers, the better.

Betting on politics should be a year-round activity, just like handicapping sports. The only way to accomplish this is to find online oddsmakers known to post an extensive selection of political betting odds.

The importance of variety extends beyond the political gambling markets to a website's banking options as well. These days, there are lots of different ways to move money in and out of your online gaming account. Finding the best method for you depends on your location, regional regulations, and personal preferences.

For example, in the United States, banks are required by federal law to block transactions between their account holders’ checking accounts and known gaming operations. While it’s not illegal for you to bet at an offshore site, banking institutions cannot assist you in financing your activities.

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Credit card companies, however, often have no issue with you using their services to fund your betting account. The same goes for numerous e-wallets, online payment processors, and cryptocurrencies. Of course, different banking methods each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

A credit card is excellent for fast deposits and provides an additional layer of consumer protections, but it cannot be used to accept withdrawals. Cryptocurrencies are anonymous and perfect for instant transactions but can be complicated to purchase and may fluctuate wildly in value.

Depositing and withdrawing directly from your debit card or checking account is the height of convenience, but only available in select regions, and requires you to share sensitive banking information with the website operators.

That’s why accepting a variety of banking methods is so essential to creating a top-tier political betting site. You need a range of options to find what works best for your specific situation.

Political Spread Betting Definition

Now, obviously, we don’t anticipate you needing to connect with the customer service team at any of our recommended political gambling sites. Still, it’s vital that the best online sportsbooks provide excellent support, just in case something unexpected happens or an error occurs. Even the top websites experience random issues from time to time.Political

What matters most is that any problems you encounter or questions you may have are tended to in a timely and respectful manner. When executing our review process, we research the different ways to contact each political betting site’s customer support team and verify that they’re active and supervised by responsive help desk agents.

Most online sportsbooks have three methods of communication: email, telephone, and a live chat window. Our reviewers test each option and record how quickly they receive a response. We encourage you to do the same before depositing money. That way, you can feel assured that while you bet politics, there’s a responsive and helpful customer service team standing by, should you ever need them.

For most people, the scariest thing about online political betting is transferring their hard-earned money to a website hosted offshore and/or in a foreign jurisdiction. The internet is littered with scammers and their fraudulent gambling websites, so the fear is warranted. That’s why vetting web-based sportsbooks for safety and security make up the foundation of our review process; there’s nothing more important.

Any political betting website that qualifies for our lists of recommendations has been intensively researched and tested to ensure they’re legitimate, trustworthy businesses. Our reviewers also pay close attention to site security, so we can be certain that all of your data and financial information is protected with state-of-the-art encryption.

Another element of our website reviews is digging into each political betting site owner’s history and reputation in the online gaming industry. Just because a sportsbook is operating with integrity at the moment, doesn’t mean you can trust them long term. There have been oddsmakers who behaved themselves long enough to gain a regulatory license, only to go rogue after the fact.

We prefer providers with a proven track record in the gaming industry. Our team analyzes the business dealings of the owners behind our recommendations and their previous domains to verify there’s no history of unethical behavior. They also study reviews and speak to top handicappers to be sure that any political betting website we share with our readers has an excellent reputation among the experts who know best.

Types of Political Betting Websites

Earlier, we mentioned how subjective it could be to determine which factors make one online sportsbook “better” than another. Once you have the fundamental criteria covered, finding the ideal political betting website is mostly a matter of personal preference. We believe that all of our recommendations are the top providers in the industry; some just have different specialties.

For example, you may be looking to bet politics right from your mobile phone. In that case, you’ll be interested in visiting our page at ranks to best mobile betting options.

Now, just because a betting website isn’t shared on that page doesn’t mean it won’t work on your phone or tablet. It may just not be compatible with as many different mobile devices as the other options that are listed. The online sportsbooks recommended on out real money page are safe and likely available on any mobile device you could have.

The same goes for fast payout betting sites. None of our recommendations offer slow payouts. That’s one of the variables we screen during our review process. The providers listed on the “fast payout” page specialize in completing monetary transactions swiftly.

Why Bet Politics Online

Political betting is still relatively new to the world of handicapping. Sure, it’s existed as a kind of novelty market in UK bookmaking shops for years, but it’s only been since 2016 that elections and politics have grown as legitimate competitions worth handicapping. With the world changing, polls and media personalities no longer exert enough influence to control the outcomes of races, meaning there’s now more value in betting politics than ever before.

Political Spread Betting Lines

For many of us, turning to online sportsbooks for our political betting is the only option, as land-based providers are barred from covering anything other than sports. Fortunately, in today’s interconnected world, that’s barely an inconvenience. As you’ve seen on this page, there are plenty of incredible top-notch political betting sites out there, just waiting for you to put your money where your mouth is!

Political Spread Betting Vs

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