Stock Brokers and Sports Bettors: Betting On If Weâre Betting
In 2025, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) shockingly dropped up to $2 billion on Polymarketâa prediction market where you can wager on everything from wildfires to if the US admits aliens. Thatâs right, Wall Street juggernauts who traditionally help grandmas save for retirement have jumped into the guessing game that lets you bet your hard-earned cash on things even your conspiracy theorist uncle wouldn't trust. Thanks to the 2018 Supreme Court ruling legalizing sports betting, the frenzy mushroomed, morphing into prediction markets with players like Kalshi and Robinhood joining. California 18-year-olds can now legally bet on Dodgers games, sidestepping state laws just because federal regulators are too busy deciding if guessing counts as gambling. Meanwhile, FanDuelâs buddy CME Group is letting gamblers bet on gold, oil prices, and economic doomâbecause why not throw GDP predictions in the casino stew? Native American tribes are throwing cease-and-desist fits, the CFTC shrugs, and even Peter Thielâs Founders Fund couldnât resist dumping cash into Polymarket. Meanwhile, DraftKings calls prediction markets 'a vastly inferior experience,' like a poker game where the dealer forgot the chips. Investing here is 'tricky,' as Chad Beynon from Macquarie notesâit might disappear faster than your retirement fund after one wrong bet.
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The New York Stock Exchange parent and sports betting apps are now selling day-old snake oil, letting 18-year-olds bet on wildfires, gold, and politics. Big moneyâs racing to profit where even regulators shrug so hard they might dislocate something.
From betting on oil prices to alien admissions, Wall Streetâs new motto is 'Why help people save when we can let them gamble?' Itâs like turning Grandmaâs 401k into a high-stakes poker chip.
Prediction markets: because nothing says financial wisdom like wagering if the government will finally admit aliens exist. What could possibly go wrong?
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 11/6/2025 | Author: Emily Stewart
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