2020 US Presidential Election Whale Nervously Awaits Outcome on $1.3M Bet

Published: Nov 9, 2020

Updated: Jun 22, 2022

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The entire world anxiously watched the results of the 2020 US Presidential Election slowly come to light, but one particular election bettor was probably a bit more nervous than most.

On Oct. 29, An anonymous bettor placed a £1 million ($1.3 million US) on Betfair for former Vice President Joe Biden to win the presidency. The apparently winning bet will net a £540,000 ($710,000 US) profit, but because the outcome of the election is being challenged in court,the bettor is waiting in limbo.

Betfair acknowledged on its blog that although US news networks have called the race for Biden, the final outcome is likely to be delayed while the Trump team exhausts all possible legal challenges.

“We will only settle the markets when there is certainty around which candidate has the most projected electoral college votes,” Betfair wrote.

According to CNN, the wager in question was the third biggest bet ever taken by Betfair.

A Presidential Election Like No Other

The 2020 US Presidential Election was highly contested, even by usual standards, and the results showed a deeply divided nation. Even though he lost, Donald Trump got more than 70 million votes.

On the Bonus.com 2020 US Presidential Election Tracker, just shy of $750 million in overseas bets have come in since wagering opened. This election was reportedly the biggest gambling event in history, taking more than $1 billion in wagers.

The $1.3 million Biden bet wasn’t even the largest of this cycle. According to the New York Post, A British gambler placed a $5 million bet on Trump to win the presidency, thought to be the biggest political bet ever placed. Had he won, the bet could have paid out as much as $15 million.

About the Author

Chris Nesi

Chris Nesi is News Editor of Bonus.com & Managing Editor of Colorado Sharp. He’s been an editor and writer for more than a decade, with experience spanning newspapers, magazines, digital news, and commercial writing. His work can be found in publications including TechCrunch, Mental Floss and Huffington Post. Chris lives just outside of Denver and enjoys regular trips to Black Hawk.