Donald Trump Impeachment Betting Odds: Record Wagers Placed On Presidency

As controversy after controversy emerged out of the White House, officials and citizens alike began to see the impeachment of the president as a real possibility. So real, in fact, that betting websites have seen record wagers on whether President Donald Trump will finish out his time in office.

The website Predictit, used exclusively by registered U.S. voters, saw record bets on Trump’s impeachment during the past week following Tuesday’s report that former FBI Director James Comey said the president asked him to stop investigating former national security adviser Michael Flynn. One contract on Predictit titled “Will Donald Trump be Impeached In 2017?” garnered more than 100,000 bets in the 24 hours after the Comey report emerged, according to Reuters.

Read: More Americans Want Trump Impeached Than Don't

On Wednesday morning, the price of a “yes” in response to the question of impeachment hit a record 33 cents, Reuters said. That amounts to a 33 percent probability that Trump would be impeached when compared with the only 7 percent probability the website predicted last week.

Other websites had bettors wagering on the question as well. Paddy Power Betfair said more than $6,470 was wagered in bets that Trump would be impeached in just a few hours after the Comey report was revealed.

“We’ve been betting on impeachment for all recent U.S. presidents,” Paddy Power Betfair spokesperson Lee Price said. “But even at the height of the Lewinsky scandal, Bill Clinton was only ever 6-1 to be impeached.”

Ladbrokes, a British betting firm, moved the probability of Trump getting impeached to about 56 percent.

“Political punters are wondering how many more scandals can Trump overcome,” Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes said in a statement Wednesday. “And despite the short price on offer, money has poured in for the President to be impeached, leaving us with little option but to cut the odds.”

Trump was already being scrutinized for his firing of Comey when reports emerged that the president asked him to stop investigating Flynn. The president had also recently come under fire after reports emerged that he disclosed highly classified national security information to Russian officials during a meeting at the White House, leading some Democratic leaders to call for Trump’s impeachment.

“It’s a position of conscience for me,” Texas Rep. Al Green said in a speech on the House floor Wednesday. “This is about what I believe. And this is where I stand. I will not be moved. The president must be impeached.”

Read: Trump's Approval Rating Drops Again After Comey Firing

Others Democratic officials, however, said impeachment is by no means something that should be taken lightly.

“It’s not something I believe people should wish for,” California Rep. Adam Schiff said, according to USA Today. “We should undertake our constitutional obligation to take the evidence, follow the evidence.”

At least one Republican has said impeachment is a serious possibility at this point. Asked Wednesday whether the revelations regarding Comey’s investigation could lead to Trump’s impeachment if proven true, Michigan Rep. Justin Amash told The Hill it could.

“But,” he said. “Everybody gets a fair trial in this country.”