Should betting on presidential elections be illegal?

[SmokinAces2000]

I mean I knew American politics were a joke but now we have people betting on potential presidential candidates. If the people betting on elections can control the outcome then are elections really fair?

[Syntosi]

I think it should be illegal. Voting should be about selecting who you want as president but betting changes the dynamic and creates a conflict of interest where your financial interests might go contrary to who you want as president.

For example, if you get a really great return on one candidate winning than the other you might be tempted to vote for them for financial reasons rather than democratic reasons.

[Dargil]

Why is betting on an election different from betting on an NFL game?

[SmokinAces2000]

Is this a serious question?

[DizzyDesii]

I think private bets between fam/friends is fine. Pay up 🤑🤌

[SmokinAces2000]

😂 of course get that money but I’m talking about these apps that have millions of people putting up money on candidates

[DizzyDesii]

Oh wow i didn't know about those

[SmokinAces2000]

Yep and I know a few people that voted based off of who had the most bets

[DizzyDesii]

Did they win a good amount

[SmokinAces2000]

One of my cousins made 200.

[seeyounexttuesday]

How can people betting affect an outcome more than a poll?

[SmokinAces2000]

Let’s say there was a vote on the best basketball player ever between Lebron and Jordan. People bet on the outcome Jordan has 60 percent of the bet and Lebron has 40 percent. Let’s say some people see this and think hmm Jordan has more people betting on him so if I bet on him and vote for him he can win and I’ll get money. Now it’s one thing if people are betting on something as trivial as who’s the best to ever play basketball but this is the presidential election

[seeyounexttuesday]

But if you bet on Lebron you get a bigger payout if you think he'll wind.

[SmokinAces2000]

The whole point is that the people betting can determine the outcome. If I wanted to put money on Lebron but I saw on every betting app and website that more people are betting on Jordan then knowing that these people are the ones voting it wouldn’t make sense to bet on Lebron

[jamesgoldman]

No, it's as close as I get to voting stateside and I bought me a decent bottle of scotch given I got behind Trump back at 12/1 for £10

[exitseven]

It should be illegal but if the state gets a cut it is alright.