You can wager your hard-earned dough on just about anything in 2024, including some of the hyper-specific details of Thursday’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Among the wackiest prop bets available online include lines on who’ll mispronounce a politician’s name first, an over-under on how many times Vladimir Putin will be mentioned, and who’ll interrupt moderators first.
All three of those bets are available on BetOnline, an offshore sportsbook that’s not regulated in the U.S. but controversially accepts wagers from Americans.
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While the outfit itself is arguably shady, the wagers provide a unique insight into how some political experts think Thursday’s showdown, which will air without an audience on CNN at 9 p.m., might shake out.
Among the quirkier prop bets is an over-under on how many times Biden will say “folks” during the 90-minute debate. BetOnline has that over-under listed at 4.5 “folks mentioned.”
Other over-unders include how many times Hunter Biden will be mentioned (2), how many times Trump will utter “fake news” (1.5), and how many times the words “stolen” or “rigged” will be used (3.5).
The website also offers a number of “first to” bets, which require gamblers to pick which candidate they think will do something first. For those, Biden is favored to be the first to say “shut up” and sip from a water bottle. Trump, meanwhile, is favored to be the first to interrupt moderators and to suggest his opponent is on drugs.
There’s also wagering options on more long-shot scenarios. That includes bets being accepted on Biden losing his footing or Trump saying, “Drill baby drill.” Each of those bets have odds of +1000, meaning a winning $100 bet would return $1,100.
Among the even more far-fetched offerings are “Biden to have a five-second brain freeze” (+1200), “Biden to fall asleep” (+1200), “either candidate to walk off” (+1400), and “Trump to say ‘Bing Bong’” (+2000).
Most other betting lines are a bit more standard. That includes a line on which topic will be mentioned first by moderators, with the economy listed as the favorite followed by foreign policy and healthcare.
Wagers are also being accepted on whether Biden and Trump shake hands pre-debate, which oddsmakers suspect they won’t do, and whose first answer will be longer, which slightly favors Biden. There are even odds offered on what pattern each candidate’s ties will be, with “solid” favored for both men.
BetOnline is also accepting bets on who will win the debate, using post-debate polls to determine a winner.
As of Monday morning, BetOnline listed Trump (-150) as a slight favorite to outperform Biden (+110). Those odds mean that a $100 wager on a Trump victory would return $150, while the same amount on Biden would return $210.
BetUS, another offshore gambling site, listed Biden and Trump as having the same odds to win at -120 each. The site said it’d use polls “co-sanctioned with CNN” to determine a winner, assuming one is quickly available.
“If no such poll, any from YouGov, Ipsos or aggregate of those two if necessary,” the betting market rule stated. “If none of those three, bets are void.”
A third gambling website, Polymarket, has collected hundreds of thousands in crypto wagers regarding the debate. Its website said the most popular bet has been whether the debate itself will even take place as scheduled.
It lists a number of words that may or may not be said during the debate, including “Fake News,” “Dementia,” “Crack,” and “Sleepy Joe.”
