Nearly $2 billion was bet on last week's US midterm elections on two prediction markets, Polymarket and Kalshi. The platforms say they're regulated financial exchanges, not casinos. A growing number of US states disagree. Sam Fenwick follows the money behind a prediction market bet on the US midterm elections, speaking to traders, the exchanges hosting them, researchers who found most traders lose money and state regulators who argue political prediction contracts are no different from gambling in a casino.
Producer: Josh Martin
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: Voters fill out their ballots during early voting in Detroit, Michigan, USA, 02 November 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)
Producer: Josh Martin
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: Voters fill out their ballots to vote in the midterm election on the last day of early voting at the City of Detroit Department of Elections in Detroit, Michigan, USA, 02 November 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)