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Donald Trump's chances of winning re-election remain slim, according to bookmakers, as several battleground states continue to report a close race with dozens of Electoral College votes still in play.
Oddschecker, which aggregates betting data from dozens of bookmakers, priced the president at 5-1, implying a 16.67 percent chance of securing another four years in the White House, although the site said Trump had pulled back slightly after being 11-2 overnight.
Joe Biden had odds of 1-5, implying an 83.33 percent chance of victory.
While bookmakers' prices do not always correlate with the political reality on the ground, such short odds for the Democratic challenger suggest many believe the momentum is now with Biden.
U.K.-based bookmaker Betfair priced Biden even more favorably, at 1-6 (86 percent chance) to win the U.S. election—close to his lowest odds ever on the Betfair Exchange.
Betfair said Trump was at 6-1 (14 percent chance) to beat the Democrat with the possibility of him being re-elected fading significantly from his average odds as polls closed on Election Day.
Record-breaking sums have now been bet on the presidential election, with more than $600m (£460m) wagered on the outcome, including £244m on Biden and £222m on Trump.
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: "Joe Biden has strengthened again and is now up to an 86 percent chance to win the election on Betfair Exchange. After a rollercoaster 24 hours, it looks like Donald Trump's prospect of re-election is finally starting to fade significantly as his route to victory narrows again."
Commentators rely on betting markets in the U.K. and elsewhere as political gambling is banned in the U.S.
The fate of the president and his Democratic rival now hinge on five crucial states: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada.
In Arizona, which was called for Biden by Fox News early during counting, the former vice president was ahead by just shy of 70,000 votes by Thursday at 9 a.m. ET, with 86 percent of ballots counted, according to Reuters, which uses NEP/Edison Research. However that lead was seen to be narrowing slightly.
In Georgia, Trump was ahead by fewer than 20,000 votes at the time of writing, the Reuters tally showed. With the gap narrowing more decisively, Biden's team expressed confidence they could turn the state blue, and with it collect 16 Electoral College votes. Just 4 percent of ballots remain uncounted. A Trump loss in the state would rule out his chances of outright victory, although in that scenario he could still secure a tie and win another term via Congress.
In Pennsylvania, where Reuters reported Trump also enjoying a lead, this time of around 135,000 votes, outstanding mail-in ballots were expected to boost Biden's chances of winning the critical state. Here, 89 percent of expected votes had been counted.
At the time of writing, Nevada had Biden in front by just 8,000 votes, with 86 percent of votes counted, and North Carolina was leaning towards Trump by 76,000 votes with 5 percent of ballots waiting to be sorted, Reuters data showed.
While neither candidate has yet cleared the 270 Electoral College votes required to win the White House, Biden is within touching distance of victory having won the battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday.
The Trump campaign has said the president will launch a legal challenge in several narrowly-won states and is demanding a recount in others.
