Barack Obama will win the presidential election, according to online gamers
Predictions made at online casinos and betting venues have made Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for the US presidential election, odds-on favourite to win the race for the Whitehouse this November.
With just days before America votes on its latest president, predictions over the internet in online casinos have predominantly backed Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, to win the presidential race.
While opinion polls have only recently seen a significant shift towards Obama winning the election from Republican candidate John McCain, internet gamers have been predicting an Obama win for some months.
As polling day, November 4th, draws nearer, the current trend predicts Obama will win 364 electoral votes, 94 more than the 270 total needed to win the presidency. Online users have predicted that Obama will win key states such as Florida, Iowa and Missouri on his route to the White House.
While some experts have questioned the reliability of predictions made over the internet, past predictions have seen internet users correctly guessing the winner of the last American election.
James Surowiecky, economist at the New Yorker magazine, said he thought that the prediction was a credible one. He commented that as internet users were willing to place money to back up their opinions, they were usually more reliable with their predictions than results taken from opinion polls.
Meanwhile, an article from the New York Times newspaper has revealed that, Obama's opponent, John McCain, has strong ties with the gaming industry - including online casinos and online games - and more than 40 of his advisers have lobbied or worked for the industry. McCain himself is reported to have a love for playing slot machines. Obama, for his part, is known to be a keen, and skilled, poker player.