Grant defeated Horatio Seymour in 1868 for the White House. There have been markets for election betting at least since Ulysses S.

And with the exception of the occasional London-based correspondent taking a camera into a betting shop, the coverage of wagering on elections has been pretty sparse in the United States as well.īut while it is illegal to bet on the outcome of elections using regulated sports betting apps and vendors in the United States, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been happening behind closed doors forever. Betting on the outcome of elections across the world has been a part of the culture in many countries for decades, but it hasn’t been a regular part of American betting culture to date.