UNITED STATES—Online gambling companies are always searching for new ways to entertain players. One of the latest additions is prediction markets and while sports fans have been making predictions for many years in the form of wagers, there are new types of predictions on offer. What are they and how are they shaping the iGaming landscape?
What are Prediction Markets?
As mentioned above, sports prediction markets have been in existence long before the introduction of the internet, spanning back decades, however prediction markets are a fresh approach to the industry. Prediction markets traditionally offer online trading platforms where users buy and sell based on the outcomes of future events, such as economic indicators, elections, or sports. However, in recent years prediction markets have moved away from sport and started to include an array of real-world events. Kalshi is one of the leading platforms to offer prediction markets and they have a wealth of options when it comes to predicting events.
How do Prediction Markets Work?
Prediction markets work on a simple yes or no framework via the purchase of yes or no contracts based on what you think is going to happen. If you trade yes on outcomes and the event happens, you realizepredi gains based on the number of contracts placed. Likewise, if you trade no and the event does not happen, you profit based on the number of contracts placed. If your prediction is incorrect, you incur a loss and receive no money.
Prediction markets, such as those at Kalshi, work by offering both sides of the outcome to players. Try prediction markets and use Kalshi promo code to get you started, as there are many events to predict including the 2028 US Presidential Election winner, Grand Theft Auto VI: PS5 price, Highest temperature in LA today, US gas prices this week, and much more covering a variety of real-world events.
Why Prediction Markets are Popular
Prediction markets are reshaping the iGaming landscape by giving people the opportunity to trade on real world events but in a simple way. There is no need to understand complex markets and search through multiple odds for the same event before making a prediction. The choices are mostly ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and anyone can back one of the outcomes. The simplicity is what makes prediction markets so popular and why they continue to grow in the iGaming industry.
In addition to ease of use, prediction markets cover topics unavailable at other forms of prediction markets. These include politics, war, the climate, commodity prices, economics, finance, and technology. Sport is also available but in a simplified format, with only three outcomes available for soccer matches in comparison to the hundreds of markets at online prediction markets.
In 2025, the combined trading volume across the two most popular prediction market websites totaled $76 billion. This was up from $9 billion in 2024, an enormous increase of over 400% year-on-year. That is something no other sector in the iGaming industry can match right now and highlights how prediction markets are charting new ground in the iGaming landscape.
