With betting on the next pope frowned upon in the home of the Vatican, thousands of Italians have instead taken to playing “Fantapapa” – an online game inspired by the fantasy leagues familiar to sports fans.
International gambling companies, never shy of a marketing opportunity, are offering odds on various candidates to succeed Pope Francis when cardinals meet in a secret conclave from May 7.
In Italy, however, no licensed gambling platform is taking bets on ‘papabili’, as the papal contenders are known. Fantapapa offers an alternative for those who want some gaming before the white smoke rises.
Similar to the set up of the Fantasy Premier League game and their equivalents outside the UK football landscape, players create a team of 11 papal candidates and win points if a team member is mentioned prominently in media within Italy and beyond.
Extra points are allocated if one of your picks is elected, with bonuses for correct guesses on other elements such as the name taken by the new pontiff.
“As of now [Cardinal Matteo] Zuppi is the preferred candidate and, notably, most of the followers on our Instagram profile are women,” said Pietro Pace, one of the creators.
