West Virginia OKs betting on 2020 presidential election

West Virginia has approved betting on the 2020 presidential election.

FanDuel Sportsbook quickly posted odds, making the Republicans a -115 favorite over the Democrats (-105), but the sportsbook said that it took down the election markets shortly afterward at the request of the West Virginia Lottery, which handles sports betting in the state.

“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,” FanDuel said in a statement.

Some Nevada sportsbooks have pursued election betting in the past, but have always been turned down by the Legislature.

Westgate sportsbook vice president Jay Kornegay said in March that he had talked with casino executives after the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic about making another formal push with lawmakers to approve election betting.

FanDuel also briefly posted futures on the election winner, with President Donald Trump at -110, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden (+125). The discrepancy in odds compared to the generic party question allows for the slim possibility that one of the men is not their party’s nominee.

Biden is -700 to be the Democratic nominee, followed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (14-1) and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (16-1).

California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is the +190 favorite to be the vice presidential nominee, followed by Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (+300). Nevada U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is +550.

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.