I’ve written lots of days about the unusual press releases I get almost every day. Some of the most ridiculous ones I get are the people about betting chances on various strange social activities. For example, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve gotten emails with press releases about bookmakers ’ odds on who will be the next James Bond.
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When I woke up this morning, I saw the announcement that Pope Francis had died, and before breakfast, I had an message promoting the chances of who would remove him as pope. Granted, those bettors definitely had their listings spinning about as soon as the bishop got sick, but this seemed horribly fast, don’t you think?
My friend, colleague, and podcasting partner Stephen Kruiser discussed some of the likely candidates on a recent episode of “Faith All Over the Place, ” but we did n’t talk about betting on who will take Francis ’ place.
Relevant : Faith All Over the Place, Episode 9: Rough Week for Pope Francis Haters
But nowadays people can ( and will ) bet on anything, and now we’re seeing odds on who will become the next pope. Would-be punters are taking to search engines to find out how to put their money over.
“Immediately after the death of Pope Francis was announced, Google searches for “bet on fresh pope” spiked to almost an all-time great, with the earlier high coming up in September 2011 amidst the filing of a formal complaint to the International Criminal Court accusing then-Pope Benedict of crimes against humanity for their jobs in the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic church, ” reports the lifestyle blog Whiskey Riff.
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Casinos are also taking to social media to find out where to imagine:
Delay. ESPN Bet does n’t have traces on future pope? ! ? Why do I even guess? !
— Grinch ( @GrinchLaw ) April 21, 2025
is there a means to bargain on who is the second bishop? i don’t discover something on sportsbook or lotto
— jonathan ( @PikaTheWanderer ) April 21, 2025
Whiskey Riff points out that there’s a reason why people are looking to wager on the next pope:
Of course sporting betting has become a huge industry in the United States since being legalized again in 2018, with 30 says allowing online sports betting and over$ 121 billion apparently being wagered in 2023.
But sports bookmakers are kind of in a slow time right now. There’s the NBA and the NHL quarterfinals, and of course MLB, but with March Madness wrapping up a couple weeks before and no sport, it seems punters are anxious to find something else to put their money on – including the apostolic conference.
On some level, I get it. Gamblers want their “fix, ” and they want their chance to win big money. But we’re talking about someone who died in the early morning hours. Regardless of what you think of Pope Francis — and I’ve seen enough nastiness in our normally civil and thoughtful comments area to know that the opinions are strong — does n’t it come across as rude to wager on his son when the pen is barely dry on his dying license?
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This might be an unpopular opinion that might make some people mad, but I’m going to say it anyway. If you’re betting on papal succession, you might need to engage in a bit of soul-searching. And you might want to call a gambling help line.
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