The Gambling Commission (GC) has said the existing betting intermediary licence would cover prediction markets should such platforms wish to go live in Britain.
In a blog post penned by director of strategy Brad Enright, the regulator warned against prediction markets offering products in the market without the correct licence.
Having fielded several inquiries following the vertical’s prominent rise in the US, the GC laid out its stance for prospective launches.
Alongside stating that prediction markets would not be able to “classify themselves as non-gambling products” in Britain, Enright added that financial services products would come under the scope of the Financial Conduct Authority.
Enright wrote: “Subject to the specific business model a ‘prediction market’ operator wished to offer in Great Britain, it would appear current products would fall within the definition of a ‘Betting Intermediary’ under UK legislation.
“While the presentation of prediction markets may differ, their core aspects are akin to what in the UK would be described as a ‘Betting Exchange’. The betting intermediary gambling licence exists to cover such business models.
“While prediction markets are a relatively new development in the US, betting exchanges have existed in the UK since 2000.
“Where activities fall within our regulatory remit, licensed operators are subject to a range of requirements on how they provide their products and services.
“These include requirements relating to consumer protection, fairness, the integrity of betting markets and the prevention of crime. We actively scrutinise compliance with these requirements and take enforcement action where standards are not met.”
Current betting intermediary licence holders include Smarkets, Betdaq, Betfair and Matchbook.
Matchbook is preparing to launch a prediction markets-style product in the UK ahead of a planned launch in the US.
Enright said it would be “unlikely the commercial drivers for prediction markets are the same [in Britain] as in US”.
He added: “Sports betting is established and available across the whole of Great Britain under a single overarching regulatory framework.
“Legal sports betting in the US is a more recent development and, to date, has been subject to state-by-state approaches.
“The gambling industry is increasingly global in nature. Given that, we will continue to monitor developments to ensure we remain best placed to help make gambling in Great Britain fairer, safer and crime free.”
The post Gambling Commission says licence already exists for UK-facing prediction markets first appeared on EGR Intel.
Regulator says it does not expect the product, which has exploded in popularity in the US, would have the same impact in Britain
The post Gambling Commission says licence already exists for UK-facing prediction markets first appeared on EGR Intel.