Pope Stimulates Election Betting

Germany isn't exactly known as a den of gambling addicts, but after betting and winning that native son Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger be elected to the seat of Peter, more Germans than ever have been drawn to gambling on this Sunday's federal elections. "It's sensational. We certainly hadn't thought there'd be as much," said Hans-Joachim Bischoff, spokesman for bookmaker EuroSportwetten, of interest in betting on the elections, according to Reuters news agency. EuroSportwetten has taken bets from tens of thousands of Germans since Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in May called for elections a year ahead of schedule. Around 7 percent of their German business is now focused on Sunday's election outcome. Conservative leader Angela Merkel is the overwhelming favorite to oust Schröder. German society has traditionally frowned on gambling. Until a liberalization of the sector in the mid-1990s, Germans could only bet on horses. Eurosportwetten odds that Merkel will become Germany's first female chancellor have widened since the start of the week from 1-20 to 1-10, meaning she is less of a favorite but still overwhelmingly backed to win.