Prediction Markets at the Crossroads: Sports, Regulation, and What Comes Next

Do prediction markets represent a new frontier for quant-driven fandom and decision-making or just a repackaged version of sports wagering with better branding and bigger datasets? Prediction markets have surged from a niche forecasting tool to one of the fastest-growing products in sports. This panel digs into what's fueling that acceleration: Are prediction markets genuinely improving our ability to forecast sports, or are they simply scaling through broader distribution and retail participation? Panelists will break down the regulatory gray zone these markets occupy, debating whether they are meaningfully different from sports betting, how recent lawsuits and enforcement actions shape public trust, and what the current policy trajectory implies for teams, leagues, and institutional investors. Finally, we'll dig into the consumer experience, from winner-take-most dynamics to the rise of professional traders, and what it means as leagues begin integrating prediction markets directly into fan engagement.