Comment Text:
Public betting markets like Polymarket MUST be regulated.
Market makers should be illegal; the option for the wealthy to decide whether or not to pay out should not be allowed. Giving benefits to the most privileged among us only grants them a greater ability to manipulate markets in their favor.
The outcomes of these markets are obvious and terrible. Betting on the next forest fire or the time of death of a celebrity will create dangerous incentives for criminal activity. Even betting on election results carries adverse incentives.
I don't even think this concept can be effectively regulated — these markets simply shouldn't exist. The only winners are insider traders. This holds all of the negatives of any other gambling addiction, with even greater societal downsides. They have only made the lives of regular people worse, poorer, and more taken advantage of.
