Nancy Guthrie Case Takes Chilling Turn as Gamblers Bet on Grim Outcome in ‘Sickening’ Twist

As Savannah Guthrie awaits the return of her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, bettors are trying to capitalize on the family’s misery. A popular gambling platform, Polymarket, has allowed people to bet on whether Nancy’s alleged abductors would be caught by the end of February.

The bet was posted online a few days after the victim disappeared from her home on February 1. Despite a massive search operation and an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Nancy remains untraceable. Meanwhile, Today host Savannah and her siblings have released multiple videos, pleading for the safe return of their mother.

As of now, more than $188,000 is at stake on Polymarket, with bettors predicting whether the kidnappers will be apprehended by February 28. The website shows there is now only a 2 percent chance of an arrest before the deadline, down from 57 percent when the bet was posted.

The number peaked at 85.5 percent after FBI director Kash Patel released footage showcasing a masked individual tampering with the ring camera outside Nancy’s home. People who had gambled on the arrest are now at risk of losing money, while those against it could be making profits.

The insensitivity of the bet has led to scrutiny of the platform, and people are calling on the government to introduce legislation regulating prediction markets. Platforms such as Polymarket and its competitor, Kalshi, have become increasingly popular in the last few months. These websites allow users to bet on anything from politics to wars.

Earlier in December, Polymarket sparked a controversy by allowing people to predict whether the Brown University shooter would be caught. The platform is banned in countries such as France, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Colombia, and Belgium. However, the U.S. government allows it to operate.

Talking about the need to regulate gambling websites, Evan Nierman, CEO of global crisis PR firm Red Banyan, said in a statement to Daily Mail, “Betting about the outcome of an elderly woman's kidnapping is stomach-turning and insensitive. Even if you think prediction markets are useful in other contexts, for most people this instantly crosses a bright red line.”

Nierman highlighted the adverse effects of these platforms and said they could promote criminal activity. He stated, “There is also real danger that deranged people may be incentivized to commit crimes with the hope of profiting from prediction markets.”

Meanwhile, the search for Nancy Guthrie, 84, continues. Her family last saw her during a dinner on the night of January 31. The surveillance camera at her secluded home in Tucson, Arizona, was disconnected after midnight, and her heart’s pacemaker stopped sending signals to her phone a little later.

She was reported missing on February 1, after which multiple media houses received ransom notes from alleged kidnappers, who sought millions of dollars in exchange for Nancy’s safe return. However, even though Savannah has repeatedly said that she was ready to talk to and pay the abductors, Nancy’s whereabouts remain unknown.