One gambling man in London has placed US$247,000 on Donald Trump winning the race to the White House, which could net him a cool US$619,000, if Trump wins.
"We've had some really big players in this week," Andy Mackenzie, marketing manager at Spreadex, a financial and sports spread betting company based in Britain told Sputnik.
#Markets remain calm as #USDecides between #Clinton and #Trump… https://t.co/FxtowQ6KO9 #USElection
— Spreadex (@spreadexfins) November 8, 2016
"One guy who could win over half a million has been placing bets on at different times with different odds, which change from day to day," Mackenzie said, suggesting that the recent controversy and different news angles on prospective leaders have attracted more attention to the US election.
"In terms of political betting it's the biggest event we have — but with potentially the biggest liabilities. Any bookmaker takes gamble and could lose out when taking on bets, there's always that risk. A Trump win would be good for the punters."
As the US election plays out at different time zones across the world, the global financial markets react in real time, netting some traders, according to Mackenzie, a lot of money.
"After the EU referendum in Britain, there was a huge shock and we had a lot of people trading through the night, some made a lot of money — others lost a lot. But political events like this can create a lot of opportunity," Mackenzie said.
Elsewhere in London, one betting shop in Chelsea told Sputnik that a customer recently walked in and placed a US$24,000 on Hillary Clinton to win.
"People have been coming and placing bets on Clinton and Trump since the beginning of this year, ranging from 5,000, 10,000, or 20,000," the bookie, who wanted to remain anonymous told Sputnik.
"The highest bet we've had is US$24,000 for Hillary Clinton to win, the odds are currently 1:5," the bookie said.
"But if someone was to place US$24,000 on Trump winning the odds are 7:2, so a US$24,000 bet return would be US$94,000."
As for the winners — or losers in the US election, it's predicted that US$24 million will be riding on the outcome in British betting shops.
"William Hill alone has already taken US$3.7 million-plus on the outcome, and with the result still too close to call we expect a political bets bonanza," Graham Sharpe, spokesman for Hill said.
"The campaign has already smashed all previous Election betting records and will end up the biggest betting turnover for any political event," Sharpe added.
