West Virginia allows then disallows political betting

The state of West Virginia became the first to allow betting on the 2020 Presidential election, before quickly removing it in a bizarre U-turn.

US.- The state of West Virginia became the first to allow betting on the 2020 Presidential election, before quickly removing it in a bizarre U-turn.

Bookmaker FanDuel had the motions to allow it approved and announced by the state lottery board on Tuesday night after rumours had earlier suggested that they would get approval to do so.

But that was quickly axed later that night in a stunning sequence of events that surprised top government officials.

Republican Governor Jim Justice said: “I thought, you know, are you kidding me? The first thing that came to my mind was, you know, what next?” It’s humorous but it’s ridiculous.”

President Donald Trump will take on Democratic nomination Joe Biden, after Bernie Sanders pulled out of the race to the White House.

FanDuel originally had Trump as the slight favourite over Biden and said it took a singular bet in the hour where bets were accepted. They would not reveal who it was for or how much was involved.

The company then issued a second statement about two hours after its initial announcement, saying: “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.”

West Virginia’s top election officials then moved to shut things down quickly before more betting could be made.

Secretary of State Mac Warner said: “Gambling on elections has been illegal in West Virginia since 1868.”

“Gambling on the outcome of an election has no place in our American democracy. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. This is a terrible idea. Let’s shut this down right now and be very clear about it.”