FanDuel Sportsbook Launches Election Wagering In West Virginia! Wait, Sorry, Nevermind

On Tuesday, FanDuel Sportsbook became the first licensed operator to offer political betting in the United States.

For a minute, at least. Here’s what happened.

FanDuel Sportsbook launches political betting markets in WV

The West Virginia Lottery (allegedly) approved the offering of 2020 presidential election odds and markets. It was one small step for political wagering in the US, one giant leap for … political wagering in the US. 

Only national markets were offered. No state or local election odds would be made available. FanDuel Group CMO Mike Raffensperger said:

“As the leading American sportsbook we’re excited to be the first to offer legal political betting, proving once again there truly are more ways to win on FanDuel. We’re proud to have partnered with the West Virginia Lottery to bring these markets into a legal, regulated sportsbook where bettors have appropriate protections and assurances.”

With very limited sports betting currently available due to the coronavirus pandemic, FanDuel literally wasted no time in offering a new and exciting market. For a minute at least.

Wait, FanDuel doesn’t offer political betting in West Virginia?

Not too long after the political odds came up, they came right back down. The company then issued the following brief statement:

“While the markets were approved, the West Virginia Lottery has asked FanDuel to refrain from offering the markets until they have time to fully work through the implications of this new market offering.”

No timeframe was given for when the odds would go back up.

FanDuel Sportsbook West Virginia betting markets 

For the minute or so that betting markets were available, here’s what FanDuel had listed:

• Winner of 2020 Election  (Trump -110, Biden +125)
• Democratic Nomination (Biden -714, Cuomo +1400, Sanders  +1600) 
• Democratic Vice Presidential Nomination (Harris +188, Klobuchar +400)
• US Presidential Election 2020 – Winning Party  (Republican -125, Democrat -110)
• State-by-State Winning Party

Interestingly, Andrew Cuomo presidential odds are available, but he’s not priced to be the Veep. That’s in part because the markets favor Biden selecting a female running mate.

We’ll have more in this as the story develops. To dive into the legality of it all, be sure to read this story at Legal Sports Report.