By Elizabeth Howcroft and Krystal Hu
LONDON/NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's
challenge of the U.S. election result in the courts has
emboldened some to bet he can still win, even as most bookies
have settled bets by accepting that President-elect Joe Biden
will succeed him.
Trump still has a 10% chance of remaining in the White House
for a second term, according to Betfair, an online betting
exchange that matches opposing wagers by punters. That is up
from 3% late last week.
Democrat Biden is currently projected to win 279 electoral
college votes, more than the 270 he needs to become president.
He is ahead of his Republican rival Trump in the voting count in
states that would bring his electoral vote total to 306,
according to Edison Research.
All major U.S news organizations have called the Nov. 3
election for Biden based on preliminary voting tallies.
Major bookmakers, such as Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and William
Hill, have paid out bets on the basis that Biden won,
but many online exchanges such as Betfair have not settled bets
and remain open for election wagers.
The discrepancy shows how some punters are backing Trump's
long-shot bid to overturn the election outcome in the courts,
based on unproven claims of extensive voting fraud and
irregularities.
"I'm a loyal Trump supporter and I put my money where my
mouth is," said Chris French, a 53-year-old mortgage broker from
West Sussex in Britain. After losing a 50 pounds ($66) bet on
Trump with a bookie that settled bids once TV networks called
the presidency for Biden, French placed a new 10 pounds bet on
Trump this week with an online exchange that still accepted
wagers.
"Trump was so far ahead on the election day. I believe
things will turn once fraud is uncovered," French added.
Despite a flurry of lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign in
the last few days, legal experts say the litigation has scant
chance of changing the outcome.
A Trump campaign spokesman said: "With every action we take,
we are moving closer to the goal of re-electing President Trump.
More than 70.5 million Americans voted for the President and he
owes it to them – and everyone who voted for Joe Biden as well –
to ensure that the election was fair and secure."
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Nearly 80% of Americans, including more than half of
Republicans, recognize Biden as the winner of the presidential
election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published this week.
Prominent Republican lawmakers and other Trump allies have
defended Trump's refusal to concede, arguing he has the legal
right to contest the results.
Betting exchanges such as Betfair and Predictit that are
still taking bets on the election said they needed more
certainty to call the outcome, and declined to specify when they
would follow the lead of the bookies. A Predictit spokeswoman
said the company was "seeking clarity in light of ongoing vote
counts, potential recounts and any legal challenges."
Not all betting exchanges remain open to election bets.
Smarkets settled bets on Saturday after U.S. TV networks called
the election for Biden. "It appeared clear that Biden's leads in
the key swing states was unassailable," a spokesman for the firm
said.
Those who are still bullish on Trump's odds remain defiant.
"I think the betting odds show that there are some smart people
that are realizing this is not over," said Nathan Lands, a
Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Trump supporter.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in London and Krystal Hu in
New York
Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Rosalba O'Brien)
