Papal election sparks frenzy of betting and adopt-a-cardinal
As the Catholic Church prepares to elect a pope, some irreverent souls are betting on the outcome while more religious-minded ones are "adopting" individual cardinals on a website to pray that they make the right choice.
As the Catholic Church prepares to elect a pope, some irreverent souls are betting on the outcome while more religious-minded ones are "adopting" individual cardinals on a website to pray that they make the right choice.
Italian cardinal Angelo Scola is the favourite with the odds running at 11-to-four for bookmaker William Hill or three-to-one for Paddy Power, meaning a bet on the 61-year-old would not win much cash.
Turkson is seven-to-two by William Hill and Paddy Power.
Professor Leighton Vaughan Williams, director of the Betting Research Unit at Nottingham Business School in Britain, said this papal election could be one of the biggest non-sporting events in betting history.
"The betting odds are the very best guide we have to the outcome," Vaughan Williams said, adding that bets on the elderly cardinals could total more than £10 million (HK$116.4 million).