Prediction markets continue to expand exponentially, particularly in the US, but over in Europe leading multinational Betsson has confirmed it will stay away from the vertical for now.
On the back of the company’s latest financial report, which outlined a decline in profit for Q4, Betsson AB CEO Pontus Lindwall was questioned by investors whether he plans to take on prediction markets as a way to diversify the firm’s portfolio.
As a reminder, Betsson is supposedly dipping its toes into new waters, with reports surfacing that the company is considering the purchase of crypto platforms Sportsbet.io and Bitcasino.io from Yolo Group.
Therefore, inquiring about Betsson’s interest in prediction markets – a relatively new development in the US that has exploded in popularity – is naturally reasonable, although the extent to which predictions could find similar success in Europe is up for debate.
However, Lindwall was quick to squash any rumours, commenting: “We can say that it’s a very interesting market segment that has been created in quite a short timespan. We don’t see that it fits as well into our core markets, although it seems to fit well in the US as an example. So we have no plans to enter into that business as of now”.
Europe split on prediction markets
This statement comes off the back of a somewhat hostile environment for prediction markets in Europe, with the latest critique against the vertical issued by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
Unlike in the US, where prediction markets providers are not regulated as gambling, the UKGC commented that such an endeavour, if to be taken in the UK, will definitely fall under the remit of the Commission.
Brad Enright, Director of Strategy at the UKGC, said: “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.
“Whilst 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.
“We actively scrutinise compliance with these requirements and take enforcement action where standards are not met.”
Such offers will fall under the UK’s gambling law, as betting exchanges have existed there since 2000. One avid example of this is UK heritage betting exchange Matchbook, which interestingly announced plans to launch a prediction markets offer of its own not long ago.
The platform confirmed for SBC News that it is definitely prepping the rollout of this product for 2026, but given the UKGC’s clear position of where it stands on the matter, Matchbook will certainly face more regulatory hurdles in the UK if it was to launch the same product in the US.
Regardless, if the launch does go forward, the betting exchange will be an outlier in the UK market by becoming the first to launch a successful prediction markets offer overseas.
After all, the UKGC’s stance is surprisingly much more mellow compared to other European regulators such those in Germany, Romania, and Belgium, where prediction markets like Polymarket have met significant regulatory resistance
UK futures versus US present
There is also the question about whether predictions would even take off with a European audience. Speaking of the British experience, the UKGC’s Enright predicted that ‘it is unlikely the commercial drivers for prediction markets are the same here as in the US’.
“There are notable differences between the gambling market in Great Britain and the US,” he said. “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.”
And on the topic of the US, prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket may have been enjoying growth, tempting the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings to also get involved, but its not been an entirely smooth process.
Concerns have been growing around the possibility for predictions markets customers to lose significant sums of money. Claims that predictions markets users are losing more money than sports bettors have been reported by the likes of Bloomberg.
Crazy story: A bank analyst published a report showing Kalshi users lose money even faster than sports gamblers, so Kalshi first tried to pressure the data provider to change their data and then accused them and the analyst of conspiring to extort them when that doesn’t work. pic.twitter.com/6LNZmO9Xo5
— Quantіan (@quantian1) February 4, 2026
Various state regulators and legal authorities are not happy with the products. A few days ago, the Attorney General of New York, for example, slammed predictions as “masquerading as ‘event contracts’”.
“Ahead of the Super Bowl, New Yorkers need to know the significant risks with unregulated prediction markets,” said Letitia James in a consumer alert issued on Monday.
“It’s crystal clear: so-called prediction markets do not have the same consumer protections as regulated platforms. I urge all New Yorkers to be cautious of these platforms to protect their money.”