Trump Fallout on iGaming: Bitcoin Spike and Big Payouts for Trump Punters

It’s the shock heard round the world as the igaming industry instantly reacted Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the US Presidential election.
Shortly after the final results were tallied, Bitcoin prices surged to the highest rates in months; and operators are feeling the burn as they hand out cash to pro-Trump punters.
Bitcoin Spikes
Political events often have a significant impact on currency prices and the gut-wrenching US election proved to be no exception, especially in the case of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin prices were already in the rise in the build-up to election day, rising as much as 10 percent in just one week, but that was just the beginning.
News of Trump’s improbable victory sent Bitcoin surging to $750 (USD) as investors, speculators, and the just-plain-frightened sought shelter from economic uncertainty.
Whether this spike will last will depend, in large part, on how well (or poorly) financial markets react to the American people’s choice for a new leader.
Pro-Trump Payouts for Operators
How much money did UK punters wager on the long shot candidacy of the former reality star turned demagogue?
On this morning after they’re still calculating the damage but it’s already known that at least one operator is shelling out $3.3 million in payouts to a small group of long odds bettors.
(That same company will likely be regretting it’s big-hearted, and entirely too optimistic, decision to payout pro-Hillary Clinton wagers before the final votes were even cast.)
Trump on Gambling Policy
So what kind of president will Trump make and how will the former casino owner treat the US-facing gambling industry?
Given the support, however tepid, he’s received from casino owner Sheldon Adelson, there’s every reason to think that he’ll be a good friend to the land-based casino industry.
That same friendship, coupled with a GOP-controlled Congress, could mean bad news for the igaming industry. After all, Adelson is not exactly the biggest fan of online gambling on the planet.
Don’t be surprised if Congress decides to start working again and begins by passing anti-igaming laws like the Restoration of the American Wire Act (RAWA).
Finally
Predicting what, exactly, a Trump presidency looks like for anyone is a bit of a fool’s game, given the newly minted autocrat’s erratic behavior during the campaign. Time will tell, but the only safe prediction seems to be that there is definitely a bumpy road up ahead.