Ron Paul Money Bomb Drive Proves a Hit With Online Gambling Sites

It started off with a bet offered by Sportsbook.com, which for some time has been offering odds on the 2008 US Presidential race, and now the Ron Paul bet on how much his campaign can raise during a crucial December 16 fundraising drive has even the likes of Bookmaker.com, not a gambling site that has offered political betting odds, jumping into the game.

Bookmaker.com (see website here) has spread the odds out a bit.  You can bet on four different options:

- $1-3 million 3 to 1

- $3-6 million 5 to 6

- $6-10 million 11 to 10

- Over $10 million 2 to 1

The best payout would come with any bet on Ron Paul's campaign making between $1 and $3 million, a bet that would pay out $3 for every $1 wagered.  The last one day fundraiser raked in just over $4 million. 

Bookmaker.com believes that Paul will raise somewhere in the area of $3 to $6 million based on the odds that pay slightly under even.  You would bet $6 to win $5 (and of course get your initial $6 back should the number fall within this range).

The bull's eye number is in fact $6 million.  That's what Sportsbook.com has been offering after opening the line at $5 mil (see website here)

"There has been a lot of action on this offering and we were forced to move the line up," said Dave Staley.
 
“Ron Paul has an enormous following online, so who’s to say he can’t reach his goal and obliterate his old record?” stated Spokesperson for BetCRIS.com, Esteban Siles. “I don’t doubt that he’ll get 100,000 people to his site, the interest part to see will they each pledge $100.”

Gambling911.com Senior Editor sees the Ron Paul bet as potentially enjoying stunning performance come Sunday when NFL betting tends to dominate the online sportsbook scene.

"Ron Paul's popularity is rooted in The Constitution, which was designed to take the government off the backs of people, as proclaimed by William Orville Douglas,” Ms. O'Brien stated.  "Wilst, we can understand the appetite for providing this type of betting opportunity on a single Presidential candidate."

Interestingly enough, a number of offshore bookmakers have jumped on the Ron Paul bandwagon for reasons other than his offering an entirely new betting market (his online following is incomparable to other canidates).  Ron Paul is also pro-online gambling, the only candidate to proclaim this.  Barack Obama, while known to poker, has not directly come forward in support of online poker. 

"The Ron Paul fundraising bet is also serving to draw attention to his tremendously successful campaign," commented Gambling911.com reporter, Jennifer Reynolds, whose specific role has been to cover the Paul Presidential campaign.  It was Ms. Reynolds in fact who originated the idea of offering a betting line on the amount taken in December 16. 

His campaign will easily take in more than the $12 million goal set for the 4th quarter of 2007.  Already at press time December 13, Ron Paul was within striking distance, needing only a half million dollars more.  If the oddsmakers are correct, Ron Paul's campaign should reach over $18 million by the end of this month.

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com

Originally published December 13, 2007 8:04 pm EST