Betting Market Fanatics Are Risking It All for Six-Figure Payouts
The boom in prediction markets is helping some savvy gamblers earn the equivalent of full-time salaries — if they guess correctly.
Employees at PowerPlay Sports, which focuses on market making and infrastructure building, in New York City.
Photographer: Mari Sarai/Bloomberg
The boom in betting sites like Polymarket and Kalshi is creating a new class of market watchers who are blurring the lines between gambling and investing, and shrugging off the risk of losses.
Some Americans are now trying to earn big paydays by simply betting on outcomes in politics, sports, pop culture and more. A few are meeting success: A wager on Disney’s Moana 2 that paid out more than $44,000; another on the release of Taylor Swift’s new album that secured a $7,500 gain; and a correct guess that tech company Astronomer would fire its kiss-cam-caught CEO that yielded thousands of dollars.