Presidential Odds: Barack Obama won the debate

Presidential Odds: Barack Obama won the debate November voters have read and seen hundreds of opinions on the Friday's presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama and today we will deliver a different point of view - the betting odds. Taking a snapshot of the presidential betting odds offered at the online sportsbook BodogLife before and after the first presidential debate, we can safely say that Democratic candidate Barack Obama came out of it the winner.

Naturally we do not base this statement on our opinion on how the two candidates performed during the presidential debate on Friday, rather than how the odds moved after the debate was over. And here is the result - on Friday morning Dem. presidential candidate Barack Obama was listed with favorite odds to win the November Elections of -145, while John McCain, although cutting down the distance, was still an underdog with odds on becoming the next U.S. President posted at +105.

But today the presidential odds were updated to reflect the Friday's debate and the betting patterns by the bettors during the weekend and what a difference - Barack Obama got his odds shortened all the way to -190, while John McCain saw one of this biggest lost of confidence with the sportsbooks since his nomination - he went from almost even odds to +155! Keep in mind that once the odds on an event are first posted - it's the bets placed which move the odds up and down. The latest update of the presidential odds show one thing - that after the debate, almost twice as many people wagered on Barack Obama to win the Elections than John McCain. And in our book, this is a clear indicator that indeed Obama was the winner of the first debate.

Published on 09/28/2008