UK bookmakers halt US election betting after Trump tests positive for COVID-19

"We have temporarily taken the U.S. election markets down as we await further updates - this is standard procedure and we wish Donald and Melania Trump well," a spokeswoman for Ladbrokes said in a statement. Betfair had put Democratic challenger Joe Biden's probability of winning at 60% on Wednesday after the first U.S. presidential debate.

Bookmakers in Britain suspended betting on the outcome of the U.S. election on Friday after President Donald Trump said he had tested positive for COVID-19.

Ladbrokes, Irish-based Paddy Power as well as online gambling exchange Betfair were among firms to halt all betting on the Nov. 3 contest. "We have temporarily taken the U.S. election markets down as we await further updates - this is standard procedure and we wish Donald and Melania Trump well," a spokeswoman for Ladbrokes said in a statement.

Betfair had put Democratic challenger Joe Biden's probability of winning at 60% on Wednesday after the first U.S. presidential debate. Biden's odds rose from 56% before the debate. Trump's fell to 40%. Betting on politics is illegal in the United States but permitted and common in Britain.