US PRESIDENTIAL BETTING: Donald Trump is seriously close to winning

Advertisement

donald trump

REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Donald Trump accepts the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. July 21, 2016.

Donald Trump now has a very real chance of becoming the next US President, according to bookmakers.

Advertisement

Most bookies now give him odds of 13/8 to win the election in November - far shorter than the 150/1 outsider odds he started with.

Hillary Clinton is still the favourite but only just, with average odds of 1/2.

Trump's odds come after his acceptance of the Republican nomination at the party's national convention last week, which gave him an expected, but still impressive, boost.

A recent CNN poll suggests Trump is now beating Clinton 44% to 39% when Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, also in the race, are included.

Advertisement

On top of that, the poll suggests that a massive 68% of voters do not find Clinton honest or trustworthy, while just 38% would be "proud" to have her as their President.

William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly said that in political betting terms, a Trump win would wipe the floor with the UK's recent Brexit upset:

"Trump becoming President would not quite be in the Leicester City league of upsets but in political betting it would certainly 'trump' the comparatively short upsets of the EU Referendum outcome and the Tories winning the General Election."

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders supporters booed any mention of Clinton when he officially endorsed her at the Democratic Party Convention in Philadelphia on Monday - suggesting that she will have a job winning over portions of her own party's supporters.

First Lady Michelle Obama received a much warmer welcome, making a speech that criticised Trump's supposed fear-mongering.

Advertisement

"Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again. Because this, right now, is the greatest country on earth," she said.

Here are the current odds on Clinton and Trump to become the next US President:

  • Ladbrokes: Clinton 1/2 - Trump 13/8
  • William Hill: Clinton 1/2 - Trump 13/8
  • Betfair: Clinton 4/9 - Trump 7/4
  • Paddy Power: Clinton 4/9 - Trump 17/10
  • Sky Bet: Clinton 2/5 - Trump 17/4