Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke has said he can envisage a scenario where the burgeoning prediction markets sector presents a “materially attractive” growth opportunity.
The space has been gaining momentum since the turn of the year, with the likes of Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com all rolling out sports event contracts.
The contracts allow users in all 50 US states aged 18 and over to trade contracts based on their predictions for the outcome of certain sporting fixtures and tournaments.
The product has sparked controversy, with several state-level gaming regulators arguing the contracts should be regulated by them, as per traditional sports betting and igaming.
However, the prediction market space is currently regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a federal-level agency, meaning firms offering the contracts believe that state-level authorities do not possess the power to stop them from being traded, despite multiple cease-and-desist letters being issued by individual state regulators.
That level of scrutiny explains Locke’s rationale for caution when discussing the opportunity prediction markets presents to the supplier.
While taking part the Goldman Sachs Communicopia and Technology Conference Presentation webcast yesterday, 8 September, Locke was pressed for comment on the potential competitive impact felt by Genius’ sportsbook partners as a result of prediction markets.
“I think there’s a big opportunity, subject to regulation,” Locke said. “For those who know us, we’re very cautious from a regulatory point of view. The opportunity is very significant.
“Again, the regulatory environment has to be very clear there. From our point of view, we see the addition of players into the market and they all require the same data. They all need the data. They need the relationships. They need access to the leagues. Again, that’s just for the revenue opportunities.
“We are watching the space pretty carefully; we are watching how the regulatory space evolves in that area as well. We can definitely see a scenario where that is a materially attractive sort of growth opportunity for us.”
Locke stopped short of commenting on whether Genius Sports’ would look to partner with prominent prediction market operators but reaffirmed it is potentially “a big opportunity” for the supplier.
In other Genius Sports news, the firm announced yesterday that it has expanded its existing partnership with Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook.
The development means Genius Sports will power the operator with official data and live trading services across the Premier League, Serie A, European Leagues and the NFL via its BetVision product.
The two parties have collaborated since 2021, and Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook users will now be able to engage with Genius Sports’ interactive tool that allows fans to get stat overlays and place bets on live streams via tapping specific players.
The post Genius Sports CEO: Prediction markets are a “materially attractive” growth opportunity first appeared on EGR Intel.
Mark Locke stresses the need for caution as the sector awaits further regulatory clarity, but notes the supplier views the space as a “big opportunity”
The post Genius Sports CEO: Prediction markets are a “materially attractive” growth opportunity first appeared on EGR Intel.