Gambling on papal conclaves

Pope Gregory XIV made gambling on papal elections punishable by excommunication.

Gambling on papal elections has at least a 500-year history. Betting on 16th-century papal conclaves are among the first documented examples of gambling on election outcomes.[1] During the same period, gambling was also common on the outcomes of secular Italian elections, such as that of the Doge of Venice.[2]

  1. ^ Paul W. Rhode and Koleman Strumpf. 2008. "Historical Political Futures Markets: An International Perspective Archived 2010-07-11 at the Wayback Machine". NBER Working Paper 14377.
  2. ^ Jonathan Walker. 1999. "Gambling and the Venetian Noblemen, c. 1500-1700". Past and Present. No. 162: 28-69.