‘Prediction markets’ set to pay out $450M to election bettors

Following Donald Trump’s election victory, thousands of bettors anticipate a potential $450 million payout from online betting sites, says Reuters . As Trump’s odds surged on so-called prediction markets near the end of the race, platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket gained attention for diverging sharply from traditional polls, which suggested a much closer race. Talking with the outlet, a Princeton neuroscience professor credited the markets’ comparative accuracy to their ability to “measure crowd wisdom where no hard data is available.

” Backers in Kalshi plainly saw what was coming. As TechCrunch reported last week, its investors loaned the outfit tens of millions of dollars in short-term loans to pay its customers. Their individual winnings may pale in comparison to a Polymarket bettor known as the “ Polymarket whale .



” As Reuters notes, the French former trader made $40 million worth of Trump-related bets on the site. If Trump also wins the popular vote, the “whale” will reportedly walk away with $80 million..