Once upon a time, a bookmaker offered odds on the latest and most important sporting events.

Today, betting sites have expanded their repertoire into all sorts of weird and wonderful areas; from who will win the Eurovision Song Contest to who will be crowned Strictly Come Dancing champion.

Political betting has also become more popular, with a wide range of markets to cover politics in the UK, USA and other nations around the world.

But not all bookmakers are equal when it comes to their politics betting… so we’ve taken a deep dive to identify the very best politics betting sites that you can join today.

Where to Bet on Politics: Top Sites Reviewed

Every high-quality betting site offers odds for football, horse racing, tennis etc, but when it comes to politics the differences between the bookmakers are stark.

So, here’s a collection of six politics betting sites that deliver the most comprehensive levels of market depth and coverage.

Star Sports

Few bookmakers take their political betting quite as seriously as Star Sports.

They have dedicated sections for UK, US and European politics betting, with both short term and long term bets covered.

You can wager on the exit dates of the main party leaders, as well as having a flutter on any upcoming by-elections and mayoral elections.

Of course, their coverage of general elections is extensive, while Stateside they also cover the presidential election and mid-terms in great depth.

Star Sports really is one of the most comprehensive politics betting sites available in the UK right now.

Pros

• Considerable market depth
• Intuitive site design allows for rapid bet placement
• Higher limits than other bookies
• Bet Boosts for most important politics markets

Cons

• Lack of payment methods accepted
• Some users report slow withdrawals

BestOdds

There’s a caveat to this selection, in that BestOdds only tends to cover UK politics – prices for American and European politics are generally missing, apart from in the lead-up to a US presidential election.

But I wanted to shine a light on BestOdds’ pricing structure, which offers some interesting opportunities not available elsewhere.

I’ll give you a couple of examples. At the time of writing, the best industry price on the odds comparison sites for Overall Majority at the next General Election was 4/7 – BestOdds, meanwhile, were 4/5… streets ahead of the rest.

And yet, to create a balanced market, they were weaker compared to their rivals for the other options in the field.

There was a similar case in the Most Seats market too, and it’s a trend that continues in other sports as well.

So, in my opinion, it’s well worth having a BestOdds account. They won’t be the best odds (despite their name) on every selection, but from time to time they will offer much better value than most other betting sites.

Pros

• Industry-beating odds on some selections
• Comprehensive coverage of British politics
• Excellent odds for many sports/markets
• Decent casino platform

Cons

• Stingy welcome bonus
• Limited range of payment methods

Ladbrokes

Some of the ‘mainstream’ bookmakers are really lacking when it comes to the depth of their political betting.

But not Ladbrokes, who offer dozens of different options across the UK, Ireland, Europe and USA.

In addition to general, mayoral and by elections, Ladbrokes also offers specials relating to specific individuals – these can be an excellent way to lock in value.

They also provide odds for next chancellor, next foreign secretary etc… a level of depth not available with many betting sites.

Pros

• Impressive market depth
• ‘Specials’ that are exclusive to Ladbrokes
• Fantastic all-round betting platform
• Free daily wheel spin that can lead to free bets etc

Cons

• Higher-than-average margins for some sports/markets
• Visa/Mastercard withdrawals often take 24+ hours

talkSPORT BET

Solid coverage of UK and US politics awaits you at talkSPORT BET.

Next permanent party leader, exit dates, year of next election and many more markets are available alongside the standard General Election and US presidential election options.

One of the most interesting things about talkSPORT BET, from a political betting standpoint, is that they offer odds boosts on politics bets – not just sports. That could help you to maximise your value.

Pros

• Solid coverage of UK and US politics
• Odds boosts on political betting options
• Wide array of promotions for sports and casino
• Lucky Dip promo can land unexpected value

Cons

• Minimal payment methods
• Not everyone is a fan of the BV Gaming software

Spreadex

I often find myself recommending Spreadex to punters due to the variety on offer: there’s traditional fixed odds betting and spread bets, which is a conversation for another time.

There’s plenty of different options at Spreadex, which extends to their political betting.

They go deep for both UK and US politics, with typical election and next party leader markets joined by American political betting that includes House of Representatives and Senate Control options.

Pros

• Fixed odds and spread betting
• Decent market coverage, especially American politics
• Lots of interesting promotions
• Blog with unique betting insights updated daily

Cons

• Website can take a while for newcomers to get used to
• Lack of live streaming

BetGoodwin

I couldn’t quite believe my eyes when I first saw the political betting options at BetGoodwin.

They have odds for the gubernatorial elections in each American state; something I haven’t seen anywhere else.

That was backed by decent coverage of UK and even French politics, so it’s quite clear that BetGoodwin takes their political betting seriously.

Pros

• Comprehensive political betting coverage
• Markets you won’t find anywhere else
• Outstanding for horse racing betting too
• Stacks of promotions across sports and casino

Cons

• Website is a bit messy
• PayPal and Apple Pay not supported

Popular Politics Betting Types and Markets

As you may know already, national politics runs on a four-year cycle of elections. So you can bet on those months – or even years – into the future, while there’s often local and mayoral elections in the UK and mid-terms in the US.

Consequently, you’ll never be short of opportunities to bet on the most popular politics bet types.

• Most Seats - Which of the parties will win the most seats in the House of Commons at the next General Election?
• Overall Majority - If a party wins more than 50% of the available seats in a General Election, they are said to have the overall majority. This betting market also has a ‘no overall majority’ option if you think the voting will be tight.
• Year of Next General Election - This betting market is self-explanatory. Note how rare it is for an election to be held outside the standard four-year cycle.
• Mayoral Election - Typically, odds are offered for a party to win a mayoral election, rather than the individual candidates representing them.
• Exit Date - Bet on the year in which selected politicians, typically the party leaders, will exit their post. The aftermath of a General Election is often a useful indicator for bets.
• Next Prime Minister - Double check the rules for this bet at your chosen betting site. Are you betting on the next prime minister at any point, or the next PM after the next General Election?
• Next Party Leader - Who will be the next chosen leader of the political party in question?
• US Presidential Election -Who will take up residence in the White House after the next election?

Best Politics Betting Offers & Free Bets

The best of the political betting offers are typically reserved for the major moments in UK and global politics.

When these become available, you’ll find the finest offers detailed in this section.

Best Politics Betting Offers & Free Bets

The best of the political betting offers are typically reserved for the major moments in UK and global politics.

When these become available, you’ll find the finest offers detailed in this section.

Politics Betting Strategies

Politics betting is interesting as signals tend to unfold over periods of months and years… as opposed to mere minutes in some sports.

In that way, it makes sense to approach political betting in a slightly different way to wagering on sports.

Strategy #1: Don’t Trust the Polls

Research suggests that opinion polls aren’t all that accurate when it comes to predicting election outcomes. In fact, betting against the poll results has been a unique source of value in recent years.

Why that’s the case isn’t clear, although there’s a theory that voters will poll one way but vote another to hide their intentions – some people don’t want people to know they intend to vote for a certain party or leader.

But here’s something else to ponder: the closer to the election the poll is conducted, the more accurate its predictions tend to be.

Strategy #2: Track Weight of Money On Election Day

The betting exchanges, like Betfair and Matchbook, are useful tools in and around an election.

They offer a chance to see where the weight of money is going in a betting market, such as Most Seats or Overall Majority in a General Election.

The Betfair Exchange is often thought to be ‘smart’ money; that is, very shrewd judges are backing and laying, or potentially even those with intimate knowledge of what’s going on.

You can use the graphs on the Betfair Exchange to track the betting landscape, seeing which selections in a market are being backed and which are experiencing the most lay bets.

This isn’t an exact science, it should be noted, and you shouldn’t just blindly follow the money with your own bets. But as predictive guides go, the weight of money in political betting can be an excellent waymarker of the likely result to follow.

Politics Betting FAQs