Betting on Politics: The Rise of Wagers on Presidential Debates and What’s Missing from the Odds

I remember a time in the not-so-distant past when gambling was something frowned upon. The only places you could do it were Las Vegas, which looked like the film 'Casino,' with exploding cars, bodies in the desert, and Joe Pesci dropping a record number of f-bombs. Now, gambling is everywhere. You can bet on NFL football, NBA, and even hot dog-eating contests.

But with that in mind, I wondered if there was a way to see betting odds on something more contentious than a sports game: the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

When it comes to this thought, it looks like I'm not the first person with the idea of investigating this, with USA Today highlighting a place like Polymarket as an off-shore place to put your bets since betting on presidential betting is illegal in the U.S. (with anything involving gambling, give it some time).