Trump Holds Advantage Over Harris Among Ontario Bookmakers

With the presidential election in full stride this week, including the much-anticipated debate, former President Donald Trump is the favorite among legal bookmakers in Canada to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris on Nov. 5.

In the U.S., bettors are not allowed to place legal wagers on the political races, but in the Canadian province of Ontario, political bets are legal. Ontario has had an open, regulated betting market since 2022.

Early this week, here were the odds from a sampling of Ontario legal bookmakers:

PointsBet Canada

• Trump -125       
• Harris +105

BetVictor

• Trump -125       
• Harris +110

BetMGM

• Trump -137       
• Harris +110

Pinnacle

• Trump -130        
• Harris +108

Fitzdares

• Trump -125
• Harris +100

Interest In The Race Is High

According to a trader at BetVictor, betting on the U.S. presidential election has seen fluctuating odds, in part based on an unusual set of circumstance, including President Joe Biden’s exit from the race and an assassination attempt on Trump. The Democratic Party elevated Harris as Biden’s replacement to face Trump, the Republican candidate.

“Lots of price fluctuations,” David Merry said. “Harris has been backed at a high of +4000 to a low of -138 and all prices in between.

Trump has been at a high of +600 (in 2021) and a low of -350 (shortly after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on July 13).

Much of the fluctuation occurred after Biden dropped out, following a shaky debate performance on CNN against Trump. Harris enjoyed a surge after Democrats elevated her as the party’s nominee.

“The price on Harris has fluctuated wildly ever since the Biden debate fiasco,” Merry said. “She was +2500 before the debate and then shortened to around +300 shortly before Biden announced he was stepping aside. Once his withdrawal was confirmed, she was +200 and then continued to shorten throughout the next few weeks. By early August she was the slight favorite at -120. Trump has since shortened again, and the prices are back to Trump being a very slight favorite at -120. The debate on Tuesday could well shake things up again.”

Interest in the race has been high, Merry added, and is likely to intensify as the Nov. 5 election approaches, with about 80% of the bets now on Trump.

“The main surprise for me was how little interest there was in Harris before Biden dropped out,” he said. “Customers were very keen to back other well-known Democrats (Pete Buttigieg, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer), but very few wanted to back Harris.”