More Money Bet on 2016 US Elections Than Any Other Non Sporting Event in History

• 2016 US Presidential Election betting shatters BREXIT wagering record as Donald Trump wins
• FBI Director Sunday announcement clearing Hillary Clinton resulted in her odds rebounding back to 1-5
• BetOnline pushes Clinton’s odds up to -550 late Tuesday
• A Donald Trump Presidency would pay out $350 for every $100 bet at BetOnline

William Hill, the United Kingdom’s largest bookmaker, says more money has been bet on the 2016 US Election than any other single political event on record with money still pouring in late Tuesday afternoon (Eastern Standard Time).  The closing amount has yet to be provided as Donald Trump becomes the next US President in stunning victory.

The big money included a single wager on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton worth about $740,000.

With live wagering that took place throughout the Election, GOP candidate Donald Trump had moved to a signifant favorite as two states that had leaned Democrat - Wisconsin and Michigan - appeared to be moving towards the real estate magnate.  In the end, those two states and Pennsylvania, another reliably Democratic state, went to Trump.

In the shadow of an investigation into new emails discovered related to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton late last month, betting markets tightened to the point where Trump briefly hit -110 at some books (though he never quite surpassed Clinton in price as she was also listed -110).

On Sunday, FBI Director James Comey announced the probe would be discontinued.

"Following the news that the FBI have found no evidence of criminality in Hillary Clinton's emails, her odds of becoming President have been rapidly cut from 1-4 or risk four dollars to win one dollar, to 1-5 or risk five dollars to win one dollar, by William Hill (www.williamhill.co.uk)," said the British online bookmaker's spokesman, Graham Sharpe, in an interview Sunday with Gambling 911.

Those odds held firm heading into Election Day morning Tuesday.

Prior to this past summer, the most wagered on non sporting event had been the 2012 US Presidential Election. 

That was until BREXIT, breaking the record as the most bet-upon political event in Britain's history. The industry calculated some 100 million pounds, or nearly $150 million, to be wagered on whether England would leave the European Union.  Ultimately it decided to do just that.

Tussday’s US Presidential Election is viewed as a potential world-changing event.  Nowhere is this better reflected perhaps than in the world financial markets.

"The market's betting that a Clinton victory will lift the cloud of uncertainty we've been facing the last two weeks," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. "We're basically back to where we were last week. The market had gotten oversold."

BNN summarized the concerns in that regard:

Wall Street sees the former secretary of state as a status quo candidate lending stability to the markets, while Republican candidate Donald Trump's stances on foreign policy, trade and immigration are less certain.

Tuesday’s afternoon betting markets continued to reflect a Clinton 5 point lead with only a handful of critical swing states showing Trump ahead. Most notably Ohio and Iowa while North Carolina was a toss up and Florida appeared to be leaning towards Clinton in the waning hours).

Betting was brisk at the North American facing online websites like Bet Online where Dave Mason also confirmed to Gambling911.com the 2016 US Presidential Election has already shattered all previous records for non sporting events.

Mason released odds late Tuesday night whereby North Carolina had moved off of EVEN to -160 while her odds of winning the Election moved a half point up to -550. A Trump Presidency would pay out $35 for every $10 bet or $350 for every $100 bet.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com