Americans can now place wagers worth thousands of dollars on whether US Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump will win the US Presidential election set to take place in November this year. As per reports, some traders will now be able to bet as much as $100M on financial exchange startup Kalshi.
Financial exchange startup Kalshi and brokerage giant Interactive Brokers launched trading Friday morning on the first regulated markets. Politico reported. The platform allows wagers on the presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Both companies are also offering trading on whether Republicans or Democrats will control the US House and Senate next year. Interactive Brokers has markets for the Senate races in Ohio, Arizona and Wisconsin, among other swing states, as well.
Steve Sanders, an executive vice president at Interactive Brokers, was quoted as saying that politics is a very hot topic for a lot of people. “So, since the elections are in the news, we think that this could be a catalyst to really get things going,” he reportedly said.
A recent court ruling in Washington, DC, had legalized election betting in the US. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kalshi, a prediction-market startup, and popular trading platform Interactive Brokers had planned to launch markets tied to the upcoming election at 8:15 a.m. ET Friday.
US elections: How does betting work?
Both Kalshi and Interactive Brokers will let you bet on whether Trump or Harris wins the election. In both cases, one can buy contracts that pay off around $1 if your bet is right, or zero if you bet is wrong. In the meantime, their prices fluctuate based on how traders assess the odds of a Trump or Harris victory, WSJ reports added.
US elections: Who’s leading the betting race?
As on October 4, Harris was leading the presidential race with 51 percent on the betting platform Kalshi. Meanwhile, Trump was neck-and-neck at 50 percent.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are entering the final one-month sprint to the most dramatic US presidential election in modern history, with both candidates warning the fate of a divided nation hangs on a result that is still too close to call.
