SBC Summit takes a look at US presidential election

The SBC Summit, which is coming to its conclusion, has been a three-day bonanza of industry insights, discussions, and high-level strategizing at the front stage of the Feira Internacional de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.

With the event wrapping up on Thursday, September 26, one of the most interesting panels of the day took place on Day 1. The Betting on Politics: US Presidential Election panel was hosted by David Bartram, iGaming Communications Specialist, and it focused on the 2024 US election which is drawing a lot of interest from sports bettors all over the world.

Although political betting remains prohibited in the United States, prediction market platforms such as Kalshi are doing their best to change the status quo. The panel was joined by Betfair Senior PR Manager Sam Rosbottom, AK Bets Head of Strategy & Performance Joe Lee, and Smarkets CEO Jason Trost.

All speakers agreed that the US Presidential Election is telling a fascinating story, judging by the amount of betting handle that is going down on it. Betfair is said to have facilitated nearly $3bn on the US election in terms of wagers, Rosbottom shared with his fellow panelists and Bartram.

Lee argued that the election betting itself has become a huge part of the betting experience, and no other race in history has told the same "fascinating" story. Lee remarked, though, that it is hardly only down to a single figure – Donald Trump, a former US president, and one of the runners for the November ballot, has his pull yes, but so does Boris Johnson, a former Tory Prime Minister in the United Kingdom.

Trost pointed out that US election betting is an international phenomenon, but it is not available in the United States just yet. He noted that there is still a debate over which jurisdiction and under which regulator's purview political betting falls under.

Lee chimed in, adding that this was indeed the case. The current status quo sees political betting as a contentious point, something that is reinforced by the legislative drama between the CommodityFutures Trading Commission and Kalshi.

Trost also tried to be a little more pragmatic, citing the $3bn suggested by his colleague and arguing that while the amount was indeed impressive, it should still be noted that the market had been running for a period of four years. This said, it doesn’t mean that political betting could not be even larger. "I believe it can," Trost concluded.

"Thank you to the panelists and all those who attended what was a fascinating discussion around betting on November's US election. It's clear this is already a historic betting event, and despite some regulatory uncertainty in the US, I expect political wagering to continue to go from strength to strength," Bartam wrapped up.

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