Trump vs. Clinton: Another bookies' nightmare?

In early March, all odds in the US presidential race were still in favour of Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump made greater casino news with his bizarre exchange with Jeb Bush regarding gambling in Florida, and less so about how his race for the White House could affect the gambling industry. We reported. Paddy Power and Ladbrokes both strongly favoured Hillary Clinton.

Several months on? What has changed? Trump continues to make headlines with his outrageous comments. Last week, Trump explained how his ban on Muslims could be implemented. While his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US still stands, Trump is willing to make exceptions to the rule.

Previously, Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, and London’s newly elected mayor, said that “if Donald Trump becomes the president I’ll be stopped from going there by virtue of my faith, which means I can’t engage with American mayors and swap ideas.”

Upon the election of Khan as Lord Mayor, Trump stated that he would give an exception in regard to London’s mayor. In conversation with The New York Times, Trump was lost for words, and is quoted as saying, “because I think if he does a great job, it will really — you lead by example, always lead by example.”

Despite such controversial remarks, many Bernie Sanders fans show a willingness to vote for Trump over Clinton. According to the bookmakers, it is getting increasingly likely that Trump will take the White House. While Clinton remains top candidate at 1/3, Trump’s odds have improved and stand at 5/2 at Paddy Power. At Ladbrokes, Trump’s odds stand at 11/4.

Alongside large segments of the American public, bookmakers worldwide fear a Trump win. At the start of the Trump campaign, many bookmakers granted Trump a 25 percent chance. Graham Sharpe, Media Relations Director at William Hill, told of a customer, John Mappin, from Cornwall, who has staked out thirty bets totalling £7200 on Trump winning the race to the White House.

“Mr Mappin began backing Donald Trump in July 2015, when he was 20/1 to become the Republican candidate and 33/1 to be President and has been placing regular bets ever since,” writes Graham Sharpe in the succinctly entitled article “Is Donald Trump the New Leicester City?”