Bettors Lose Big as Robert Prevost Becomes First American Pope

Many pious people consider gambling to be a sin. Considering this, the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new Pope, which resulted in countless lost bets, could perhaps be considered one of his first victories.

Prevost Became Pope Leo XIV

In an unexpected turn of events, the Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was named as the new Pope, becoming the spiritual leader of some 1.4 billion Catholics all over the world. His election on May 8 followed an earlier attempt on the same day during which the 133 Cardinals failed to make a choice.

In the afternoon, however, white smoke finally billowed from the Sistine Chapel, signifying that the wait was now over.  

Prevost will now be known as Pope Leo XIV. The new pontiff has previously served as a missionary in South America and a bishop in Peru. Pope Leo will notably be the 267^th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the first Pope of American origin.

Unlike the generally moderate Pietro Parolin, who was believed to be the most likely candidate to become the new Pope, Prevost is reportedly more progressive and poised to continue Pope Francis’ legacy.

In any case, Prevost, now Leo XIV, vowed to address the difficult decision on the horizon.

Not a Good Day for Bettors

The Papal election marked a very important day for the Catholic community. However, the day was not so great for all the bettors who had placed money on the election.

As mentioned, Cardinal Parolin stood as an outlier among all candidates and was believed to be the most likely choice to become the next Pope. The Italian’s mix of progressive and conservative positions made him a very likely candidate.

Prevost, on the other hand, did not seem a contender who was likely to succeed, according to the global community of bettors. For context, BetMGM Ontario reported that a staggering 90% of all bets were on Prevost whose odds of becoming the next Pope were listed at +5000.

Conversely, both BetMGM and Kalshi gave Prevost no more than a 1% chance to succeed. The surprising result therefore resulted in a major victory for all books and prediction markets that allowed customers to bet on the election’s outcome.