Most British Columbians are not eligible to vote in the November 8 U.S. election, but the province’s lottery corporation is making sure that they can put their money down on who they think will win.
B.C. residents wagered more than $396,000 on the U.S. election up until October 26 on the British Columbia Lottery Corp.’s (BCLC) Playnow.com website, BCLC spokesman Doug Cheng told Business in Vancouver.
That betting is part of what Cheng called a “novelty” category of online betting that accounts for about 2.5% of all the money wagered on the lottery corporation’s online gaming website.
“We started to offer novelty bets to cover current events and water-cooler topics that will capture the interest of non-sports bettors,” Cheng said.
Past novelty betting categories have included the outcome of the Oscars and the choice of the next actor to play James Bond, he added. Novelty betting has gained enough popularity that it’s now comparable to betting on sporting events such as the National Hockey League, he said.
One distinction between novelty and sports betting is that people who bet on professional hockey games usually place many small bets during a month or week, while those who bet on events such as the U.S. election place a single bet that is much larger.
The average bet on the U.S. election has been trending at $228.41, more than 10 times the amount of the average sports bet.
Most of the U.S. election bets ride on the outcome of the presidential race, while other wagers have been placed on the senatorial races and on the margin of victory in the popular vote or in the electoral college.
At press time, Democrat Hillary Clinton had odds that would pay bettors $1.22 for each dollar wagered, if she wins. In contrast, a $1 bet on Republican Donald Trump would pay $3.35 if he won and a $1 bet on Libertarian Gary Johnson would pay $500 if he won.
Odds can change many times per day but are locked in at a set rate when the bettor makes the bet. The BCLC calculates the odds based on betting behaviour as well as polling, perceived performance in debates and press coverage.
Despite the popularity of election betting, the BCLC has taken a corporate position that it will not involve itself in Canadian political elections, such as the one in B.C. in May 2017, because of its role as a Crown corporation.
B.C. government-owned Crown corporations are intended to be politically neutral.
The BCLC provided more than $1.3 billion in profit to the B.C. government in the 2015-16 fiscal year.
That came as a result of more than $3.1 billion in revenue that the corporation generated from lotteries, online gaming and casinos.
BCLC also generates some revenue from offering its Playnow.com service to the Manitoba government.
Other Canadian lottery corporations, such as Loto-Québec and Atlantic Lottery Corp., also offer wagering on the U.S. election.
In addition to money spent on betting, another indication that British Columbians are interested in this year's U.S. election is that many venues are either hosting election parties or renting space to groups to have private parties on November 8.
