World waits on next US president with over £400 million matched on Betfair

As the US presidential race went to the wire, more than £400 million was matched on Betfair as punters created the biggest market in the betting exchange's history.

The world woke up to no clear winner on Wednesday, with current president Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden declaring themselves victorious. Every vote was proving crucial with a handful of states yet to announce their results, and the winner may not be conclusively known for a few days.

But one known result is just how lucrative the Betfair market on the 2020 US election has proven. Over £300m had been matched before Tuesday's election night, and that amount continued to rise, flying through the £400m mark, with money being staked non-stop as the drama unfolded.

The US election market has already proved a cash cow, with the 2016 election setting the previous record for Betfair when £199m was traded as Trump defeated Hilary Clinton to become the 45th US president. However it has been dwarfed by the 2020 market.

Donald Trump: £199m was traded on Betfair in 2016 when he defeated Hilary ClintonCredit: Chris Graythen

At 1.15pm, over £434m had been matched on Betfair's market, and firm spokesman Barry Orr said: "The market's still in play, it could potentially be in play until the Supreme Court make a decision. I projected all along I thought it would end up around the half million mark and I haven't seen anything that would make me reassess that number.

"It's a four-year market in the making but the amount of liquidity that has come into the market in the last 48 hours has been phenomenal, which is what happened in 2016 as well."

Trump is now firmly odds-against to earn a second term as president and was trading at 4.5 at 1.15pm, yet he had hit a low of 1.24 on Tuesday night.

The number of page views on the market is also a record, eclipsing visits the 'Will Cheltenham go ahead' market received in March.

Read more if you were interested in this . . .

'The market could reach £400-£500 million' – US election takes Betfair by storm

Matthew Engel on the US election: analysis, betting predictions and tips

Fortunes riding on battle for the White House – is Trump the punters' pal?

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