Prediction market bettors are the new political pundits. Why are we listening to them? | Judith Levine

Sites like Kalshi and Polymarket offer faux populism as elites reap the benefits – and voters risk being misled

Online betting is a bit like Donald Trump.

The prediction markets – platforms where users bet on whether events will occur – pretend to be populist, pushing the nabobs aside and representing the “wisdom of the crowd”. “This data is bottom-up, not elites-driven,” a Kalshi ​spokesperson told Reuters. But in fact, the markets are controlled by a few, skillful traders.

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