By Todd Dewey, Las Vegas Review-Journal

LAS VEGAS — President Joe Biden’s odds to win the 2024 election took a major hit in betting markets after Thursday night’s debate with former President Donald Trump.

While Biden’s odds dropped, the odds on several other potential Democratic candidates improved amid calls from some pundits for the president to drop out of the race.

Before the debate, Trump had a 55.7% chance, which equates to a -126 favorite, to win back the White House, and Biden had a 35.9% chance, which equates to the +179 second choice.

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After the debate, Trump’s chances improved to 59.7%, or -148, while Biden’s chances plummeted to 22.0%, or +355, according to electionbettingodds.com, which averages live odds from Betfair.com, FTX.com, Polymarket.com, PredictIt.org and Smarkets.com.

A negative number represents how much a bettor must wager to win $100. In this case, a bettor would have to wager $148 to win $100 on Trump’s being elected. A positive number represents how much a bettor would make on a $100 wager. In this case, a bettor would win $355 on a $100 wager on Biden to win the election.

Betting on politics isn’t permitted at U.S. sportsbooks.

Trump moved from a -150 favorite to -175 at BetOnline, an offshore sportsbook that isn’t regulated in the U.S., while Biden soared from a +130 underdog to +300, or 3-1.

A CNN flash poll showed that 67% of debate viewers felt Trump won, while only 33% believed Biden prevailed.

Betting on Newsom, Obama

BetOnline also reported significant movement on other Democratic candidates, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s odds were slashed from 25-1 to 7-1 and former first lady Michelle Obama’s odds dropped from 22-1 to 16-1.

“We just kept taking bets over and over again on Gavin Newsom and Michelle Obama,” BetOnline political oddsmaker Paul Krishnamurty said.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ odds were cut in half from 40-1 to 20-1.

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