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Donald Trump's odds of being re-elected have received a boost following last night's vice presidential debate, according to bookmakers.
The incumbent president's chances of re-election improved marginally after the event in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. His odds moved from 2-1 (33 percent chance) to 15-8 (34 percent chance), according to bookmakers Betfair.
At one point during the debate, firm also gave Joe Biden less chance of winning than at any point in 2020 campaign so far.
However, the U.K.-based bookmaker said that the Democrat remains the odds-on favourite to win the presidency at 8-15 (65 percent chance).
It comes after a CNN Instant Poll of 609 registered voters who watched the debate, suggested that Harris had won the head-to-head. The poll reported that 59 percent thought Harris came out on top, compared to 38 percent who favored Mike Pence—as the below graphic produced by Statista shows.
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said "the end result in the presidential betting was a small boost for Trump."
He added: "With £300,000 bet on the next president market during the debate, bettors are once again getting behind the president and his odds of securing a second term have improved."
Professional political gambler and election expert Paul Krishnamurty said Joe Biden's "chances of winning dropped by 3 percent during the debate", according to changes on the Betfair Exchange.
He added: "In contrast to the first presidential debate, the VP stand-off was full of legitimate political argument. Both Harris and Pence amplified their messages effectively and delivered them competently. They both dodged more of the awkward questions and critically avoided any big disasters."
Oddschecker reported a similar slight bounce for Trump after Wednesday night.
During the 90-minute debate, more than half of UK-based bookmakers cut the odds of Trump winning the 2020 U.S. election, according to one aggregator.
Online bettors believed Biden's chances of winning the election decreased, Oddscheckers said. While he remains the betting favorite, Biden's odds implied he had a 65.8 percent chance of winning, down from 66.7 percent before the debate.
Since Harris took to the stage, only 28 percent of bets placed were on Biden winning the election, Oddschecker reported.
The movement in Trump's favor contrasts with the effect of the first presidential debate, when Biden's chances of winning the presidency increased following chaotic scenes.
Oddschecker said the September 29 debate led to the "biggest swing in the market in six months," with a shift of 5.63 percent towards the Democratic former vice president.
After that debate, the betting experts reported that Biden's odds had shortened from -125 to -140, while Trump's lengthened from +120 to +138. That meant Biden's implied probability rose from 55.60 percent to 58.34 percent, while Trump's dropped from 45.50 percent to 42.10 percent.
