Political Prop Bets And Election Props
Best Political Prop Bets
The political betting market is taking off with the renewed interest in American and global elections, most of which can be credited to outsider Donald J. Trump winning the US Presidency in November 2016. As the old Washington rules are now fundamentally altered, the intrigue around the highest office in the land has never been more pervasive and buzzworthy.
With mainstream media ratings at all-time highs, election betting sites are taking note and have offered a host of betting lines on everything from candidate debates and state primaries to general election odds. You can even find political spread betting and totals odds if you know where to look – And we definitely know where to look! If it’s happening in politics, you can bet it’s happening on the odds boards at legal offshore sportsbooks.
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Are Political Prop Bets Legal?
Yes, it is legal to bet on political events, including political prop bets, but you won’t find any domestic sportsbooks that offer political betting odds. Despite the newfound proliferation of state-licensed sports betting, election odds, political prop bets – and other “entertainment” betting – are generally not offered. Some states have excluded politics from their approved wager markets, but most have just followed the Las Vegas standard of simply not offering such lines.
This means that even if you have a local sportsbook available to you, you won’t be able to bet on political props there. Alternatively, you are able to use one of the online and mobile political betting sites featured here, all of which have their fingers firmly on the pulse of America’s most irritating and polarizing news market.
Note: All forms of online gambling are barred in Washington, though these laws are historically unenforced with no record of any fines or arrests. Still, if you live in WA, please follow all local laws and proceed at your own risk.
Understanding Political Prop Bets
The election betting market is full of different kinds of wager opportunities, and proposition wagers – or props – are merely one variety of the many odds and political betting lines you can find at offshore sportsbooks. Within the category of political props, there are a few different kinds of general bets you’ll find.
- Debate Props – Debate prop bets are all about the candidate debates that dominate the news cycle in major election years. When the Presidency is up for grabs, the opposition party will usually have several debates to thin the field, with each candidate bringing his or her own baggage to the stage. Usually, these props center on things that candidates may say during debates (like whether or not they mention “Russia” or “Weinstein” or any other issue du jour), the items of clothing they wear, and how much time they’ll get to speak.
- Primary Props – Primary props could also be categorized as political futures, but in most cases, they’re presented as scenarios where one candidate is pitted against another (or “the field”), and bettors pick which one will get the most votes in a primary election or caucus. You can also wager on whether or not there will be contested primaries, brokered conventions, and so on.
- Election Props – When you’re picking an election winner, that’s technically a futures bet. But “elections have consequences,” after all, and that’s where the props come in. Examples of election props are usually limited to outcomes in general elections, like which party will win the most popular voters, which party will take the Electoral College, whether or not the same party will sweep both categories, and more.
- General Props – General props can be for pretty much anything related to politics. For example, you might find an over/under on how many times Donald Trump will tweet during a major sporting event (i.e. the Super Bowl), whether or not a championship team will visit the White House, which terrorist will be killed or captured next, which country or countries will declare war on the US, Political indictment odds, etc.
- Vice President Props – Vice President odds and props are becoming super popular since candidates are currently campaigning for the Democratic nomination. Before the candidates make their announcement you will find numerous props for who they might pick to be their Vice President.
Even outside of election season, things like impeachment odds, administration staff firings, and other day-to-day soap opera minutiae are featured front and center on political betting sites.
Current Political Prop Bets
US politics betting is featured heavily at most premier gambling sites, and the following election props are among the most popular – and most amusing – that we’ve come across. While any online bookmaker will offer betting odds on current events, most only have a handful available at any given time.
If you want the best props for this election, you need to stick with the most popular US-facing sportsbooks. By signing up at several of them, you can maximize your entertainment – and your bankroll. After all, dead Presidents trump living pols every time!
Trump Political Prop Bets
Bettors around the USA doubled down on Donald Trump’s re-election odds in 2020, and that action was largely driven by Trump prop bets for a wide variety of outcomes. Although he was unable to secure a second term, prop bets for Donald Trump and his family continue to populate the boards at political sportsbook sites.
Below is a sampling of some of the prop bets featuring Trump odds, and are an example of how he and his family dominate the boards even when they aren’t in office – or actively running for one. As has been the norm since 2016, personal finances continue to inspire Trump props, but the rumors of his US House run, and subsequent leadership role, are now receiving action.
Trump Nominees To Cabinet
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. +350
- Elon Musk +500
- Tulsi Gabbard +450
- Ivanka Trump +3000
- Lara Trump +1800
- Tucker Carlson +1800
How To Read Political Props
If you visit any major offshore sportsbook, you’ll see that political betting follows the same structure as other sports betting. This is helpful for those familiar with the US moneyline and the standard bet presentation in use across the nation.
However, for newcomers to the fold – especially for those who want to bet on politics but aren’t particularly interested in less important sports – there are a few basics to understand before laying down your hard-earned government fiat money (or, if you’re particularly independent and seditious, your Bitcoin!).
For in-depth details on how to bet on politics, you should check out our Political Betting Guide. That’s where we explain how the “moneyline” works, so you can read and understand every election wager you come across. As for the basic political props on the menu, those are listed below.
Political Prop Bet Types
- Straight Bets – Straight political props are the most common kind. Usually, these will be like any other straight bets, where you simply pick a “winner.” These can come in the form of polling results, which candidate will speak the most in a debate, which politician will raise the most quarterly contributions, which party will win an election, and so on.
A frequent straight bet during the primaries involves wagering on which candidate will be the next to drop out of the race.
- Totals Bets (Over/Under bets) – Totals are most common when applied to debates and general wagers. These are over/under, where a sportsbook picks some numerical threshold, and you wager on whether a person or party will surpass or fall short of that number.
How many times Trump tweets during a debate is a typical political over/under, as are most debate props involving specific things candidates may say. Vote percentages in primaries are presented in the over/under format, too.
- Yes/No Bets – These are political and election props that concern specific positive outcomes. One of the most amusing Yes/No bets from the primary cycle was whether or not Bernie Sanders would say “Epstein” during a recent Democratic debate.
Other examples include things like “Will the Democrats have a brokered convention,” “Will Joe Biden drop out before Super Tuesday,” and “Will the current Ayatollah be alive when Trump leaves office.” The sky (or the gutter) is the limit when it comes to political Yes/No wagers.
- Spread Bets – These are the rarest political props, and you’ll typically only find them during contested elections where you can wager on a handicapped margin of victory.
For example, an election prop in the form of a “point spread” could be something like picking whether or not Donald Trump will win Texas by a particular margin of votes, or whether Bernie Sanders will win Vermont in a landslide. You can also get political spreads on things like debate interruptions, speaking times, and more.
Political Prop Betting Limits
Prop bets on politics and elections are an inexact science compared to other action offered by sportsbooks. In other words, the outcomes are far more volatile, with far less empirical data to go off for the bookmaker. For this reason, betting limits are often installed.
Take the case at BetOnline, where political props – and other entertainment odds – have $1000 betting limits. This keeps the book from taking on too much liability and bankrupting itself by letting gamblers wager too much on a “sure thing.”
Example: If a sportsbook accepted a $1 million bet on Bernie Sanders’ odds to win the Vermont primary, they might be out an automatic $100,000 or more. As a result, you’ll rarely be able to make huge single bets on politics. And though different offshore betting sites will have different betting limits on election odds, they’ll all be in the same ballpark.