Paddy Power slashes odds on Trump presidency

Bookmakers have been cutting odds on Donald Trump becoming the next president of the United States, as Paddy Power lower the chances of the once-thought-impossible event to 15/8, a 35% chance.

Trump secured the Republican nomination in the race to succeed Barack Obama in the Whitehouse on Tuesday, and will now face off against Democrat Hillary Clinton in the campaign.

The Irish bookmakers have seen a wealth of money being placed on Trump, forcing them to lower the price.

“The weight of money that we’re seeing on Trump has forced us to cut his odds. We’ve never had a presidential candidate so popular amongst bettors and should he win it will be the worst political result for the bookmaking industry in history,” said Féilim Mac An Iomaire, a spokesman for PP.

The Irish bookmakers have seen a wealth of money being placed on Trump, forcing them to lower the price

“Normally the shorter priced candidate will attract the majority of the large bets, but there’s very little between him and Hillary in this sense as we’ve been seeing five-figure bets for Trump consistently since the turn of the year,” Mac An Iomaire said.

Other bookmakers have also decided to lower the odds following Trump's powerful run, including William Hill who initially offered the billionaire at 150/1, and seen that tumble to 7/4.

“Trump becoming president would not quite be in the Leicester City league of upsets but in political betting it would certainly ‘trump’ the comparatively short upsets of the EU Referendum outcome and the Tories winning the General Election,” William Hill press officer Joe Crilly said in a blog post.

On top of the bookies, some strategists have been increasing the likelihood of a victory for Trump.

“In short, a Trump victory, while not our base case, cannot be ruled out,” strategists at Citgroup said. The experts cited an uncertain political age signalled by Brexit and the distance between the two candidates as playing to the New York businessman's strengths.