intodimensions.com

The outcome of the presidential election might still be unknown, but the online betting on who will win is breaking records:

We bet on ballgames and poker, the Oscars and the Emmys, so why not the presidential election — especially one as tightly contested as this one? It’s better than even money that somebody’s got to win. Oh, sure, it’s illegal to wager on a presidential race in the United States. But thanks to the Internet we now live in an age of gambling without borders, which enables Americans — along with the rest of the global village — to get a piece of the action. Although precise numbers are impossible to come by, it’s estimated that tens of millions of dollars have already been plunked down on the 2004 presidential election. But the size of the online pot spread out across a dozen or so Internet sites could possibly double as the campaign winds down, according to gambling experts. (Even so, presidential betting would still only represent a fraction of the multibillion-dollar online gambling industry.)… Betting on the free world’s next leader has the potential to be more than just another over-hyped social gathering; it might also become a cherished crystal ball. While most polls and pundits are calling the presidential race even, gamblers are giving a slight edge to President Bush. They think Bush’s chances of reelection are around 55% — and Sen. John F. Kerry’s chance of preventing that at roughly 45%.