All eyes have been on New Orleans since the news broke about ten inmates being held on a variety of charges – including second-degree murder, armed robbery and assault – escaping from the Orleans Justice Center on May 16. But while some concerned about public safety are holding their breath until the five inmates who are still at large are captured, others are keeping track on which will be captured for the benefit of their bottom line.
Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based platform which allows users to place their bets on everything from the team that will win the 2025 NBA Championship to who will be the next president of Suriname, just announced that users can bet on which of the inmates who are still at large will be captured by Friday.
“PRISONER PARLAYS?” the company captioned a May 20 post on X to let users know about the option to bet.
“Which inmates will be captured by Friday?” “How many inmates caught by Friday” and “All Orleans escapees captured by Friday?” are among the options Polymarket users have to cash in on the inmate’s capture. And as you should expect, lots of people online have opinions about this, including plenty who find the idea of betting on human beings in this way pretty repulsive.
“It’s giving squid games. gross,” wrote one disgusted commenter on X.
Others were quick to cosign.
“This is the most degenerate sh*t I’ve seen this year,” wrote someone else.
But while most people who spoke out were totally against the idea, one commenter thought the inmates who are still on the run should find a way to use the platform to make a little money for themselves.
“Damn .. if they were smart they would bet on themselves and cash out big,” wrote someone on X.