Betting Odds On Government Shutdown
The odds of a second government shutdown at the start of 2019 are looking rather slim, according to reports. Last week, some sportsbooks briefly posted betting odds on whether the federal government would shut down by the deadline at midnight on Friday, Feb. Odds to win the 2020 United States Presidential Election. Some declared the bill faces longshot odds of becoming law in 2019 because the governor doesn’t want to factor in the legalization of sports betting or online casinos into the budget while others say preventing a government shut is a top priority and this is only a minor speed bump until that issue is resolved. The odds of a federal-government shutdown this fall climbed significantly in the past week, according to a top expert on the federal budget. And technology stock bull, Wood is now betting.
“Borderline, feels like I’m going to lose my mind …’
Thank you, Madonna, for the theme song of the current partial U.S. government shutdown and the border security fight.
It doesn’t matter which side of the U.S. border wall/fence debate you are on, feelings are strong. And for the sake of this article, we’re staying on the fence.
Betting Odds On Government Shutdown Rules
However, we are going to detail a few prop bets regarding the shutdown and how we think it will shake out.
As we type, things are pretty much at a standstill in Washington, D.C., with no votes planned on bills providing funding to reopen U.S. government agencies or $5.7 billion for the wall President Trump wants to build on the U.S. southern border.
The president went to the Capitol for lunch with GOP leaders on Wednesday. In our “West Wing’ fantasy, he would have hopped out of the car and walked to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office. Alas, that did not happen. A meeting later in the day with Congressional readers ended badly and with no agreement.
On Friday night, the U.S. government official crossed the line of longest shutdown on record. No confetti was thrown.
Nearly 800,000 federal workers have been affected, including FBI and IRS agents, the Coast Guard, TSA agents and park rangers. Those workers employees, some who live paycheck to paycheck, will not be paid on Friday. If the federal government remains closed, more Americans may feel the squeeze as subsidies for housing and food stamps will not be distributed. Food inspections already have been suspended.
In an Oval Office address airing live on Tuesday night, President Trump made his case for wall funding. In scripted remarks, the president declared “a growing humanitarian and security crisis’ at the U.S. southern border, blaming congressional Democrats for the partial government shutdown.
“This is a humanitarian crisis – a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul,’ Trump said in his 9-minute address from the White House. “Democrats in Congress have refused to acknowledge the crisis, and they have refused to provide our brave border agents with the tools they desperately need to protect our families and our nation.’
He has yet to declare a “national emergency,’ which could prompt access to Pentagon funds, earmarked but not spent on federal contracts, that could be used to build the wall. The president says he believes there is still a deal to be made with Congress.
U.S. Congressional leaders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) jointly delivered the Democrats’ response, which prompted a meme avalanche on Twitter that noted similarities from “American Gothic’ to a parental scolding.
“This president just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear and divert attention from the turmoil in his administration,’ Schumer said Wednesday night.
MyBookie is offering prop bets regarding the shutdown:
Will funding for the border wall be approved?
- Yes: +150
- No: -200
Our pick: No
Trump declares a national emergency for wall by Jan. 18?
- Yes: -140
- No: +100
How To Read Betting Odds
Our pick: Yes