Prediction markets a better product than sports betting, says Gambling.com Group CEO
Charles Gillespie tells EGR state regulators are fighting a losing battle against the vertical, which he says is “uniquely suited to the American market”
Gambling.com Group CEO Charles Gillespie has attested that prediction markets serve as a better product for US consumers than traditional sports betting platforms.
Speaking to EGR, Gillespie said the lack of progress of sports betting and igaming legislation across the country is making prediction market platforms a more attractive prospect for players.
Maine became the eighth US state to legalize igaming earlier this year, while Missouri launched its regulated sports betting market in December 2025.
Gillespie remarked: “It’s been pretty limited [igaming and sports betting legislation progress]. Maine is not going to move the needle for anyone as it has very few operators. I think all the energy in the US at the moment is around prediction markets, for precisely this reason.
“Momentum around legislation at the state level has stalled, but people clearly want these products, and industrious entrepreneurs are finding a way to provide them.
“With the blessing of the CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission], you’ve got this explosion in prediction markets and, let’s be honest, it’s a pretty good product. It’s better in many respects for the end consumer than traditional state-regulated sports betting.
“The odds are better and there are no real limits. If you are sharp, you will not be banned, you will be embraced, and your action will be welcomed. That’s a pretty big deal.”
Gillespie suggested US customers have taken to prediction markets so well because they represent a product which is culturally familiar to Americans, and that state regulators are fighting a losing battle to get platforms to conform to sports betting legislations.
He said: “We’ve seen the exchange model play out, like with Betfair in the UK. For people that have been in the industry a long time, this isn’t the first time they’ve seen this, but I think it’s a product which is uniquely suited to the American market.
“Americans grow up buying and selling stocks. It’s culturally central to the American experience, which bodes well for it in the future. At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to court cases – probably the Supreme Court – and whether or not these states can try to avoid federal regulation, which I don’t think they can.
“It’s pretty clear that it’s valid federal law. That’s just how the US system works. It’s certainly one to watch, but I think it has a bright future.”
Pushback from state regulators against prediction markets has been ongoing.
Last week, Arizona’s Attorney General Kris Mayes filed criminal charges against Kalshi on the grounds the firm is operating an illegal gambling business in the state without a license.
Regulators in Tennessee and Connecticut have also sent cease-and-desist orders to the likes of Kalshi and Polymarket in recent months, while lawmakers in Nevada, Massachusetts, and Michigan have also opposed prediction markets.
Regarding Gambling.com Group’s involvement with prediction markets, Gillespie added: “We do a lot with prediction markets now. We sell OpticOdds data to hedge funds, which are trading on their prediction markets. We can do marketing and data for the prediction market exchanges themselves.
“There’s prediction market features that we add to the OddsJam consumer product which people find really fascinating and interesting.
“From a very early stage, we had the data between the sports betting companies and the prediction market exchanges mapped, so you can easily compare odds and exchange pricing on the same event.”
Gambling.com Group reported record revenue of $46.2m for the fourth quarter of 2025, representing a 31% increase year over year.