Ireland Betting On America's Economy

As the White House and Capitol Hill struggle to reach agreement on the debt ceiling crisis, Ireland's largest bookmaker has weighed in on the issue, and is taking odds on how it all plays out.

Paddy Power has set a line on both a U.S. ratings downgrade by Moody's and on whether the U.S. debt ceiling will be raised.

A Paddy Power press release is quoting 9/2 that the U.S. will lose its AAA status, and it puts odds on the debt ceiling to be raised before the August 2nd deadline at 1/8.On Wednesday Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating agency, warned of a potential downgrade that would move the U.S.'s debt rating from their highest rating of Aaa to Aa, citing the "rising possibility" that the government's $14.29 trillion borrowing limit won't be raised soon enough to prevent the U.S. from running out of money to pay its bills.

Paddy Power reacted to that information in its press release, saying, "By downgrading struggling countries across Europe, Moody's have already shown they mean business. A downgrade could spell disaster for America and an uncertain future for President Obama."

Paddy Power spokesperson Sharon McHugh said that for now, "Obama is still our odds-on favorite to be elected for another term," but cautioned, "Those odds would disappear faster than Houdini if Moody's went ahead with a downgrade."