Comment Text:
Prediction Markets should be illegal. There is no reason why people should be able to bet on anything and everything. The way these "markets" are run and operate is beyond shady. Allowing the amount of money placed a bet to dictate the odds, leads to wealthy individuals being able to not only influence but in some cases control the odds of the bets they are putting money on. The way these "markets" "decide" on what the given outcome of an event is is also beyond shady. Leaving it up to voting, that is fully in the hands of the super wealthy again, just means the super rich are able to influence not only the odds and payout of a given bet they have placed, but also determine what the "true" outcome of that event is. I know these companies "say" they are not gambling, or betting, but they LITERALLY uses the words betting and odds often in their marketing and promotion materials. It is insane to me that companies like this are allowed to exist, and have the power that they currently have. The head of the CFTC said he would leave it up to courts to determine if prediction markets are illegal or not, only to then threaten states that actually decided to take these companies to court, to you know...have the courts determine if what these sites are doing is illegal or not....shameful stuff.
