While it’s still very early, Former Vice President Joe Biden has the best odds of winning at 3 to 1, according to oddsmaker Dave Mason from BetOnline.Ag.
[RELATED: Joe Biden Starts the Democratic Primaries as the Odds On Favorite]
“He’s getting a lot of bets so it is not only what we think but what the betters think,” Mason told Florida Daily about Biden. “He’s taking in the most bets to win the Democratic nomination and for president too other than President Trump.”
[RELATED: Donald Trump, Joe Biden Running Close in New 2020 Poll of Florida]
So far, the Democratic nomination has not been a barnburner for betting action but Mason knows things will pick up as the election draws closer.
[RELATED: Joe Biden Reels in a Big Endorsement in Florida]
“Slow and steady,” Mason described the action on the election so far. “Coming up to the elections, the action gets crazy. The 2016 election…was the second biggest betting event of the year next to the Super Bowl, taking into account all of the bet counts and money bet on it.”
One thing that is picking up the pace for gamblers is the entry of former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Tex., into the race. He begins with 4 to 1 odds to win the nomination.
Mason calls the group with the best odds of winning the Democratic nomination the “Big Four”.
“It’s kind of a four-horse race there with the Democrats,” Mason said. “There is going to be a lot of one pulling ahead and the other pulling back. You can be a favorite between now and the time we have a Democratic nominee. It’s going to go back and forth.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., checks in at 5 to 1 odds while U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., stands at 6 to 1.
The other candidates have a lot of work to do, according to Mason.
“The rest of the Democrats are all pretty much longshots,” he said. “You go down to Elizabeth Warren at 22-1, Cory Booker at 22-1.”
Those steep odds for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., seems a little off considering she was a Democratic darling coming out of the 2016 elections. Mason based some of the long odds on a fickle public, telling Florida Daily “we haven’t seen a lot of action coming in on her, that’s why her odds are dropping back down.” Mason also said the DNA test she took which showed she has only a tiny percentage of Native Indian DNA helped dim her star a bit.
Mason explained how the odds for president are set.
“You set the odds on what we think, what the polls say, reading the tea leaves and all that. Then you adjust those odds based on the public money coming in,” he said.
All this being the case, it makes sense that Mason has President Donald Trump as the favorite in 2020.
“Whether you love him or you hate him, he sure is an entertaining person and polarizing figure, so people love betting for or against him,” Mason said. “He does move the needle. It’s been a lot of fun from a bookmaking standpoint having him as president, setting all political views aside. When he does leave office, it is going to make our political betting and odds making a lot more boring, I can tell you that.”
The odds on the entire presidential field can be found here.
Reach Mike Synan at Mike.Synan@floridadaily.com.
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