One other firm vying to hitch the listing of our finest sports activities betting websites?
The CEO of Robinhood, a web based shares and crypto buying and selling platform, has declared the corporate is contemplating increasing into the sports activities betting trade. Vlad Tenev, talking at Robinhood’s first investor day, indicated that Robinhood might observe the template laid out by corporations like Kalshi and Polymarket, providing occasion contracts on sports activities occasions.
Tenev stated, “We’re keenly trying into that area. Nothing to announce simply but, but it surely’s so essential to our prospects and in tradition that we’re enthusiastic about it.”
Robinhood began providing occasion contracts for the 2024 US presidential election however presently classifies this as a “white area,” the place it doesn’t have vital penetration but however might develop sooner or later.
Robinhood’s historical past with occasion contracts
Robinhood entered the occasion contracts market in October, asserting it was solely providing these markets to US prospects with approval for margin investing and Stage 2 or 3 in choices buying and selling. In a press launch, Robinhood stated, “We consider occasion contracts give individuals a instrument to interact in real-time decision-making, unlocking a brand new asset class that democratizes entry to occasions as they unfold.”
In line with information launched by the corporate, it acquired greater than 500 million traded contracts in only one week, with the brand new characteristic encouraging greater than 500,000 funded futures accounts.
How do occasion contracts work?
Occasion contracts got here into the highlight within the build-up to the 2024 presidential election, as political betting is prohibited in all US states the place sports activities betting is authorized. Nevertheless, occasion contract wagering isn’t thought of conventional sports activities betting, so it grew to become widespread within the US.
With approval from the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC), occasion contracts let bettors predict an consequence, sure or no, in a specified time and purchase shares for every reply. The worth of these shares will likely be primarily based on the chance of that consequence, and bettors will earn $1 for every inventory they maintain.
For instance, the bettor might say “sure” to Donald Trump profitable the 2024 presidential election. In the event that they purchased ten shares for $20, they might make a revenue of $10 when the contracts had been resolved, leaving them with $30 in complete.
Successes and struggles of different occasion contract platforms
The influence of occasion contracts on the way forward for US political occasions continues to be being decided. The CEO of Polymarket not too long ago revealed in an interview with CNBC that he believes occasion contract markets will likely be used with polls to foretell the way forward for elections.
Whereas polls predicted a good race for the 2024 presidential election, occasion contract wagering closely favored Donald Trump and painted a extra correct image of the ultimate outcome.
Whereas the long run appears shiny for this new prediction market, not every thing has been optimistic. The aforementioned Polymarket was not too long ago banned in France for not working legally. France was a vital marketplace for Polymarket within the buildup to the US election, with a French participant drawing vital headlines for putting an enormous wager that resulted in a $80 million payout
