Zona de Azar Brazil – Brazil: Court Approves Betting on U.S. Presidential Elections

USA – October 15, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com The United States court has given last-minute approval for millions of dollars to be wagered on the outcome of the presidential election, scheduled for November 5. The race is between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, with both campaigns in a tight contest.

Following this decision, Interactive Brokers, a platform offering election betting, saw contracts for Harris’s victory fluctuate between 48% and 50%. The approval was granted on October 2 after a lengthy battle between regulators and companies seeking to introduce political betting in the U.S.

Kalshi, a startup that has been seeking for years to enter the election betting market, was authorized by the Washington court to operate while an appeal filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is still under review. In the first few days, bets on Harris and Trump had already reached $6.3 million (R$ 35.4 million).

In addition to the presidential race, bettors are also wagering on control of Congress. Other platforms, such as Polymarket, have accumulated about $1.7 billion (R$ 9.56 billion) in bets, with Trump holding a slight advantage over Harris. Advocates of these contracts argue they serve as more accurate predictions than electoral polls.

However, critics fear that the betting market could further fuel polarization and misinformation, especially at a time when many Americans still question the legitimacy of the previous election. The court’s ruling emphasized the importance of election integrity but noted that there is no concrete evidence that such betting would harm the democratic process.

Edited by: @_fonta
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