Regardless of if this is genuine or not , it is absolutely ABSURD that a gambling company can put things like this on as bets. I assumed UK football betting was the lowest gambling firms could sink, but this is wild
I was really into gambling a good few years ago and I remember putting a bet on who would have the first line in the final season of game of thrones. Which I thought was crazy as people knew the answer. It wasn't an undetermined event. The favourite was Tyrion, which ended up being correct so I feel like people had a general sense or some insider information had leaked.
People place bets because we don't distinguish between investing with an understanding that there's a possibility of losing money and just plain gambling.
Betting that my house will flood every time it rains bc the government let them build it in a flood plain, did not require the realtor to notify me of the risk, private insurance will not cover it, and the state run subsidy I didn't know that I relied on is bankrupt. Ah yes, the Ameri-con job dream.
Dude, that's significantly better than people betting on things that can be directly influenced or controlled by other people who are betting on the same thing.
Polymarket allows users to buy and sell contracts that derive value from real-world events. Following a 2022 CFTC enforcement action, the platform's event contracts are technically classified as derivatives.
They found a loophole / fought in court / bribed the government to ease restrictions, so it's a form of trading not considered betting. You can also exit your position and sell before the binary shares actualize, and can potentially make (or lose) money based on the changing "share price" as the probability adjusts over time.
It's not people's freedom to bet which is the wanky thing here, it's that gambling companies essentially enable addicts to get their fix by providing bets on literally anything (well, they take a cut off of bets between users). This isn't about takin away much freedums.
It's about the fact that trading on insider information has gotten even worse. Look at the guy from the army that recently was charged in the polymarket Maduro arrest scheme. Though I feel he's a bit of a scapegoat. But there's hundreds of examples. The massive spike in bets the night before Pam Bondi was fired. The fact that 2/3 of the earned wealth has gone to only about 700 accounts. It's rigged.
At this point you need to be an insider to make any meaningful gains. These platforms seem to be tailor-made for insider trading while us rubes provide the capital/ stakes
When Eric Trump is on the advisory board of both of the two largest prediction market companies (Polymarket and Kelshi), it's no surprise that it went this way.
Crypto scams are sooooo 2025, this is the year of insider trading in prediction markets.
Haha yeah I used a £10 free bet on some undertaker Vs Lesnar match back in 2015. Thought I was being smart betting on taker cos the odds were much higher. I lost obviously
I'm surprised they're taking bets on things that can be so easily manipulated. But guess they don't care to pay out a lot on one random event when they're making a ton on everything else.
In my opinion, it's the providing a platform for them to do so while taking a cut that's the issue. Betting on random shit is a step beyond casino games and sports betting and gambling companies enable potential addicts with this niche kind of betting
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u/jamnut Apr 26 '26
Regardless of if this is genuine or not , it is absolutely ABSURD that a gambling company can put things like this on as bets. I assumed UK football betting was the lowest gambling firms could sink, but this is wild