Gambling and The Election, Part One: Want to Know Who’ll Win? Ask Kenny Rogers
Monday, November 3rd, 2008
Is Barack Obama holding all aces?
Professional political commentators have weighed in and according to The Washington Post, only two out of fourteen pundits see John McCain in the White House next January. While you can put your stock into what people like Ed Rollins, Eleanor Clift and Bill Maher say, Keith Thomson, in an article appearing on the website The Huffington Post, argues that professional gamblers or, to be more specific, bookmakers are the true political soothsayers.
In his article “The Most Accurate Election Forecast? Hardcore Gamblers,” Thomson gives some great information on the history of betting on political outcomes – which was legal for many years — here in the United States. He also gives reasons in the article as to why bookmakers have to be on the money – pun intended – when setting odds.
For the post, Thomson interviewed professional gambling experts and a University of Kansas economics professor, Koleman Strumpf, who “believes wagering is an incomparable barometer of an election.”
If you are interested in seeing the current odds on the presidential and other races, check out internet site Betfair.com. Keep in mind that it is for information and entertainment purposes only since both betting on political races and internet gambling are prohibited for United States citizens.
