Betting on Jesus Can Save You From Insiders: Paul J. Davies

On the face of it, gambling on the second coming of Jesus Christ is just funny. Would earthly dollars even matter if the Messiah did return? Still, more than $3 million was wagered between hopeful believers and doubtful skeptics on Polymarket last year; in the final three months of 2025, activity on prediction markets took off and weekly wagers topped $2 billion.

There was one big advantage to the Jesus bet, whether punters went for Yes or No: It was at least a trade where everyone could be fairly sure that no one in the market had inside information. That’s not ...