Polymarket · Cointelegraph
UK financial watchdog weighs lifting prediction markets ban: Report
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Companies offering binary options for retail investors have been barred from selling, marketing and distributing products in the UK since 2019 following a directive from the FCA.
Key facts
- The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reportedly has reached out to prediction market companies as part of discussions over whether the regulator would loosen a ban for retail investors
- Companies offering binary options for retail investors have been barred from selling, marketing and distributing products in the UK since 2019 following a directive from the FCA
- Should the FCA overturn the 2019 ban, prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket could face similar challenges as they are dealing with in the US, where individual state gaming
- According to a Friday report from The Times, the FCA is weighing lifting a ban on prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi for UK-based retail investors
Summary
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reportedly has reached out to prediction market companies as part of discussions over whether the regulator would loosen a ban for retail investors, in place since 2019. According to a Friday report from The Times, the FCA is weighing lifting a ban on prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi for UK-based retail investors. “Binary options are gambling products dressed up as financial instruments,” said the FCA’s executive director of strategy and competition, Christopher Woolard, at the time of the ban. According to The Times report, many retail investors based in the UK have been using virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the country’s restrictions on prediction markets and execute trades on Kalshi and Polymarket, both with operations in the US.