Prediction markets and their future just got a major confidence boost after the New York Stock Exchange owner, Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), agreed to splurge $2bn on Polymarket.
This is a notable move in the sector and one of the largest investments to date in any prediction market platforms, which have been facing pushback from gambling regulators in the United States.
Yet, the mounting legal challenges have not stopped prediction market platforms from growing. Kalshi has just filed a lawsuit against Ohio and is fighting similar challenges in Nevada, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
Polymarket gets a new cash investment, driving valuation upwards
The $2bn offered by ICE sends Polymarket's valuation to around $9bn or $10bn. The partnership, though, looks deeper and is not just a cash injection, with ICE becoming the global distributor of Polymarket’s event-driven data.
Commenting on the deal, Shayne Coplan, Polymarket’s boss, said: "Our partnership with ICE marks a major step in bringing prediction markets into the financial mainstream."
ICE will be paying in cash, and the investment will not have an impact on the company’s operations in 2025. Following its most recent investment, Polymarket has increased its overall value by a factor of ten over the past several months.
Back in June, the company was worth around $1bn, but a determined push into the prediction market platform has strengthened the sector’s outlook, driving valuations along. Kalshi too could now be looking to get additional funds that could potentially shoot up its value to around $5bn.
While Kalshi is operating in the United States, Polymarket is still biding its time, as it’s poised to re-enter. Both Polymarket and Kalshi are competing to dominate international markets, and Kalshi’s boss recently spoke to Bloomberg, where he said that prediction markets are the future.
They offer limitless potential and scalability, Tarek Mansour explained, while reminding them that gambling regulations and prediction markets fell under the purview of the CFTC. ICE’s endorsement of Polymarket as a legitimate business opportunity further adds credence to these companies’ claim that they are legitimate businesses.
Yet, Polymarket and Kalshi have yet more challenges to face in the US market, with gambling regulators proving relentless in their desire to limit the reach of these platforms.
