Prediction Market Platforms Adding New Categories, More Ways to Play
Prediction market sites are surging in popularity, so they are continually adding new categories and more ways to join the action. You can be sure that the platforms will continue to add new ways to play, as projections suggest trading volume may reach a trillion dollars by 2030.
These apps feature event contracts rather than the typical betting markets featured at online sportsbooks. This is why they are legal in nearly all states, and the platforms are federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Here are some of the newest event contract categories at prediction market sites:
- Technology – Predict events in the technology sector, such as product launches and company earnings. Early on, most technology markets focused on AI and its advancements.
- Economics – This is an emerging category with bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts and inflation reports. Many markets in this category also involve cryptocurrencies, such as predicting the price movement of Bitcoin or Ethereum.
- Entertainment – Entertainment is growing, with bets on concerts, TV events, and even movie scores on Rotten Tomatoes. A common entertainment wager is predicting the winner of a reality TV show.
- Corporation happenings – This is a newer, less common, but emerging category, betting on factors such as company profits and IPO speculation.
- Weather – This can be wagering on anything weather-related, such as rainfall in a state over a month or whether a hurricane will occur.
- Climate – Anything climate-related, as there are a lot of possibilities, such as record highs and lows, and average temperature.
The prediction platforms to choose
When choosing a prediction market platform or sports betting site, consider the available categories to ensure they align with the real-world events you're most interested in.
For sports-related bets, the betting giants of Fanatics, DraftKings, and FanDuel are good options among regulated sportsbooks. DraftKings Predictions is looking to expand into micro-betting as prediction markets grow in popularity among U.S. players.
Kalshi offers a wide variety of sports markets and is big on technology and economic markets. Polymarket is one of the big boys in the platform space, and while it offers many categories, it's heavily focused on the political market.
Changing sports landscape
The sports betting landscape has changed with the emergence of prediction market platforms. Many of the top North American leagues are partnering with platforms such as Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and Major League Soccer (MLS). Polymarket recently became the first platform to partner with a major European league in Spain’s La Liga.
Sports have been the most popular betting category on prediction market platforms, and as more agreements are made, more betting options emerge. However, the major platforms have been in compliance with the major leagues' efforts to maintain integrity. Some platforms have removed bets that are more vulnerable to manipulation. For example, Polymarket recently stopped accepting bets on individual MLB pitches.
