US President Donald J. Trump meeting with county sheriffs during a listening session in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (Andrews Harrer/EPA)
Paul Krishnamurty lost about $15,000 in November after placing an online bet.
The professional gambler and writer of The Political Gambler blog didn’t lose it on the horses or a big game, though. He lost it because Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the United States presidential election. Much like most pollsters, he thought Clinton was shoo-in.
Like most pollsters, he was wrong.
“I was supremely confident. I though she was going to win by a landslide. When the results were first coming in, I was extremely confident,” Krishnamurty told Fortune. “[Trump’s win] was 1,000 times less likely than Brexit. I was arguing that Trump had no chance.”
Still, he may have a chance to recoup his dough, as betting on Trump’s presidency didn’t end with the election.
In fact, it’s more popular than ever.
(On overseas betting websites. It should be noted that, outside of an extremely narrow set of circumstances which were explored by The Washington Post’s Jessica Contrera, gambling on political outcomes is technically illegal in the U.S.)
“Donald Trump being president is a brilliant thing for betting companies in the United Kingdom. He has created an incredibly amount of interest in betting,” Alex Donohue, PR manager of British oddsmakers and betting website Ladbrokes told The Post in a telephone interview.
Trump’s unpredictability is the key, as his actions “lead to speculation which can be translated into betting,” Donohue said. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he “has become a mainstream character in the United Kingdom,” which makes up the majority of Ladbrokes’ clientele.
Thrill-seeking gamesters can toss money down on anything from whether Trump will visit Russia before the end of the year to if he will win the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize (100-to-1 odds). Paddy Power, an Irish gambling website, offers more outlandish bets on such scenarios as “next retailer to drop Ivanka Trump,” “When will Sean Spicer leave/get sacked as White House press secretary” and if Trump will “be officially accused of Russian collusion.”
On both sites, though, “the main bet would be impeachment or will he finish the term,” Donahue said. And most bettors seem to be placing their hard-earned money on the idea that he will.
Currently, Ladbrokes offers an even payout on that happening — 1-to-1 odds, in other words. That means if a gambler bets $1 on a Trump impeachment and is proven correct, he receives $2 back. Many, many people are betting.
“We face a six-figure payout should The Donald resign or find himself impeached before the end of his first term,” Ladbrokes spokeswoman Jessica Bridge told The Post via email. “Simply put, British bettors do not trust Trump as far as they could throw him and are willing to stake hefty amounts of money on him failing.”

