Free Bets

Pennsylvania Primary  Tue 22 April - Judgement day looms in the political betting world for Hilary Clinton in her seemingly doomed efforts to secure the Democratic nomination for the forthcoming presidential election. Online betting enthusiasts have enjoyed a roller coaster of a campaign with ups and downs for both she and Barack Obama in a contest which has now degenerated into mudslinging of a kind rarely seen outside of Republican v. Democrat electioneering. Senior Democrat officials are concerned that lasting damage is being done to both candidates.

Tomorrow’s Pennsylvania Primary should sort things out, though, with Hilary needing a double figure victory to stay in the race. Right now she is about six points ahead of Obama but the gap is closing and it’s not looking good for her. Not a quitter she will have to be dragged out of the race but there seems little likelihood of her surviving beyond tomorrow. With betting on Obama at around 2/9 and Clinton 3/1 there’s not much fun to be had there anyway.

Which leaves the intriguing prospect of a John McCain vs Barack Obama presidential race. McCain is currently offered at 5/4 to be the next President while Obama is set at evens. Barack fans should note, however that online betting sites are offering 7/4 on a Democrat victory while the Republicans are given a 5/4 chance.

If a week is a long time in politics then seven months must be several lifetimes and much can happen before November. Nobody seems to have noticed, for example, the similarity in names of the Republican candidate and Die Hard hero, John McClane. We’re talking America here. It’s things like this that can make the difference.

The gloves are off in the race for the Democratic Nomination for President and the two remaining candidates, Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton have accused each other if negative campaigning in last night’s TV debate. Political betting fans are aware of the crucial importance of the forthcoming primaries in Ohio and Texas and if Hilary loses in these two states, we may well see her withdrawal from the contest.

Barack has won the last eleven primaries and caucuses and. To the untrained eye, he may well seem to be on an unstoppable roll. Shrewd adherents of sports betting, however, will have spotted a new force emerging; the phenomenon of what has been called the ‘Baracklash’.

It is entirely predictable, these days that, once a new star has been created by the media, that same media will then begin a process of dragging down their hero. Suddenly the flaws in Barack’s character and experience are being noticed and a slip, albeit a small one, is emerging in his ratings.

Polls show that Barack will have a clear majority against John McCain when it comes to the presidential Election. This may well be pushing some democrats in his direction. However, public opinion is more complex than that and, should Hilary become the choice of the Democrats, the public will reassess their voting inclinations and she may well emerge as President when the dust settles.

Because of these polls and because Barack is the current front runner you can currently get from 7/2 to 9/2 on Hilary emerging as President. It might be time to take up a few of those free bets and place your faith in her.

The contest to become presidential candidate is becoming tenser as ‘Super Tuesday’ looms this week when 24 states vote for their choice of both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. Political betting sites are buzzing under the weight of wagers in what has become the sort of fascinating contest that only happens every twenty years or so.

The reasons for this are many. People are weary of the incumbent administration and there is a sniff of radical change in the air. This lends an air of confidence to the Democrats but times are hard in America and the world in general and people usually turn to the Right when they want tough decisions made. At the same time, there is the difficult-to-resist offer of a black man or a woman as potential President – something new to Americans. Many will be fascinated to see what such a change might bring.

Furthermore, the battle between the black man, Barack Obama and the woman, Hilary Clinton has become an intriguing one for betting punters. Prejudice, both racial and gender, abounds in America and each candidate has had to transcend this by presenting themselves as especially remarkable candidates. This has not been impossible because the American Dream encourages and wants people to be remarkable and to transcend difficulties. Online betting fans will have a field day in considering all these factors before making their choice.

The contest has boiled down, realistically, to four hopefuls with Obama and Clinton in the Democratic camp and Romney and McCain for the Republicans. It’s been an up and down ride for Obama and Clinton, with Hilary currently the bookies favourite at around 4/7. Obama is around 5/4 but a good speech or a bad mistake either way and these odds could easily change. McCain is serious Republican favourite at 1/8 with Romney 9/2. It’s hard to see McCain slipping from this position and the more interesting bet has to be with the Democrats.

The attention of the political betting world is focused on New Hampshire where a critical phase of the presidential primaries will take place on Tuesday. It is widely considered that the result of this primary will reveal who is to be the new incumbent in the Oval Office come January 2009.

Online betting is hotting up in a contest which involves more than just party political consideration. It’s pretty rare in US presidential politics that the end result is so unpredictable and this is certainly partly due to the unpopularity of George Bush and the Republican Party in general, thus rendering a Democrat win likely. What makes this presidential race more interesting is the previously unheard of candidature of both a woman and a black man.

The involvement of these two people, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, a vastly experienced Senator and a figure for change, respectively, digs deep into the prejudices of the American people. Who do they fear the least, a woman or a black skinned man? If Iowa is anything to go by, misogyny rules, and they will prefer the manly qualities of Mr Obama over the feminine appeal of Ms Clinton.

Sports betting fans will note, however, that Iowa also chose Mike Huckabee as their favoured Republican candidate. Mr Huckabee thinks the world was created 6000 years ago and God did it. Furthermore, New Hampshire has a belief in its political sophistication and a treasured history of overturning the Ohio preference so, despite Barack’s fresh appeal, he may yet be shown the door. As John Sununu said, ‘Iowa picks corn, New Hampshire picks presidents’.

On the Republican side, things are equally, if not more, unpredictable. It’s likely that their candidate will emerge from a tussle between John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. It’s anybody’s guess but, if I were you, I’d keep my eye on McCain.

As Tony Blair gets set to announce his plans after stepping down as prime minister, the Next Prime Minister Betting is well under way. In this area of political betting, punters can still receive a free bet bonus from online betting bookmakers when they register with them.

It’s often forgotten that these types of political events can be part of your online betting campaign as they can get lost amongst the more popular sports betting events that occur , particularly at this time of year. Nonetheless, bookmakers offer a nice variety of odds on all sorts of areas in politics from who will be the next prime minister to how many votes they will win by when elected (their majority), who will take the other positions in a subsequent cabinet re-shuffle, who will be the contenders. Then you move on to betting on election campaigns and to place bets on who will represent different constituencies around the country and who will win that constituency, by how many seats, etc.

It really does open up into a huge area of betting interest which of course will spike at the time of any local or general elections.