UK Regulator Considers Ending Ban on Prediction Market Trading for Retail Users

Britain’s financial regulator is reportedly exploring whether to reverse a long-standing restriction that keeps everyday investors out of prediction markets. Officials have held talks with platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket about easing rules first introduced in 2019, according to a recent report. That year, the regulator barred firms from marketing binary-style betting products to ordinary consumers, arguing at the time that such products amounted to gambling disguised as investing.

Growing Demand Pushes Users Around the Rules

Despite the restriction, many British traders have reportedly turned to virtual private networks to access these platforms anyway, placing wagers on outcomes ranging from elections to sports results. Analysts at a major investment bank have projected the global prediction market sector could expand sharply by the end of the decade.

Legal Pressure Still Building in the US

Any policy shift would arrive as similar platforms face mounting legal challenges overseas, including a fresh appeal from New Jersey regulators asking the country’s top court to weigh in on jurisdiction disputes involving Kalshi.