The election of a new pope is always a massive world news event, and Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost being elected as the first American pope — he’ll go by Pope Leo XIV — is even more newsworthy.
But usually part of the news coverage doesn’t have to do with with the new pope’s sports fandom or how he is impacting sports betting markets.
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However, Prevost was born in Chicago and gradated from Villanova in 1977, which has led bettors to back the Wildcats to win their first college basketball title since 2018. Villanova (80-1 odds at BetMGM) had less than 1% of all wagers to win the 2025-26 national championship at BetMGM before Prevost was elected, but in the past 24 hours, the Wildcats are now responsible for 22% of the total wagers in the pool.
Villanova has missed the NCAA tournament the past three seasons, so winning the title is certainly a leap of faith.
Duke (+900), Purdue (10-1) and Houston (11-1) are the teams with the best odds currently to win the 2025-26 title at BetMGM.
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At other sportsbooks, Villanova has received more action than all other college basketball teams combined and is now the second-most bet team behind Purdue.
A parlay of Villanova to win the national championship, the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series and the Chicago Bears to win the Super Bowl has also been popular. But that may be a misguided endeavor, as it appears Pope Leo XIV very well could be a White Sox fan.
The White Sox certainly need all the help they can get.
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