Now that we have settled into a new reality where Donald Trump has become the president-elect of the United States of America, it’s time to look at the fallout of this result. The political ramifications are countless and it’s not our place to discuss these. But there are immediate ramifications for bookmakers that offered odds firmly stacked against Trump and in favour of Clinton.
“Betting Armageddon”
Bookmakers around the world offered odds on the Presidential Election and the amount of money wagered on this election was unprecedented. It’s been said that worldwide $25 million have been bet on the outcome.
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power bears the brunt of the losses. Only on Monday the odds for a Clinton win were at 1/5, leaving her with an 80% chance to win. That means Trump’s chances of winning were only 20%.
Yet here we are.
Paddy Power had been so sure of a Clinton win they even offered early payouts in October. They ended up paying out nearly $1 million to punters who had bet on a Clinton win. Now, however, they are looking at paying out another $4.5 million to punters, who had backed a Trump win.
Spokesperson for Paddy Power Féilim Mac An Iomaire called the whole thing a “political betting Armageddon”. He admitted that they’ve “been well and truly thumped by Trump with his victory leaving us with the biggest political payout in the company’s history and some very, very expensive egg on our faces”.
Interestingly many bets were placed by people who had never placed a political bet in their lives.
Other bookmakers lost as well
Obviously all the gamblers who had put their money on the expected win of Hillary Clinton lost their money. But bookmakers in turn lost on every bet that had been placed on underdog Donald Trump.
William Hill, for instance, confirmed a high six-figure loss, though wouldn’t go into details. It is known, however, that a British castle owner placed 30 bets in favour of Trump and walked away with £100,000.
Ladbrokes also confirmed that this outcome has resulted in the “biggest upset in political betting history”. But the bookmaker did not confirm how much money they would pay out to gamblers.
Regardless of the loss that Paddy Power experienced because of the election result, the bookmaker is already offering new markets on the Trump presidency and what may come out of it, such as the building of that infamous wall between the US and Mexico.