Gibraltar regulator dismisses ADI Predictstreet licence controversy as “sensationalist” reporting
The rapid approval of the gambling licence has been questioned amid international scrutiny of prediction platforms.
Gibraltar.- The Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner has defended the territory’s decision to issue a gambling licence to a prediction market operator for the first time. Media and other observers had questioned the speed of the approval of the licence for ADI Predictstreet just as regulators in other jurisdictions seek to block such platforms.
ADI Predictstreet is owned by Finstreet Limited, a subsidiary of Sirius International Holding, ultimately owned by the Abu Dhabi Royal Family. Its licence was approved by the Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, Nigel Feetham under Gibraltar’s existing gambling legislation. The move has been billed as part of Gibraltar’s efforts to find new revenue sources to offset the potential impact of the rise in UK gaming taxes on its igaming sector.
Feetham himself boasted of how the licence was issued in “record time” following his attendance at the Consensus Hong Kong crypto and Web3 conference. That led questions to be raised about how closely the company was vetted.
Speaking to the local media outlet GBC, Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner Andrew Lyman has insisted that a due diligence process was followed before approving the licence. He said he recommended confirming the licence approval before the company’s announcement of a multi-year deal with FIFA, which came a day afterwards.
ADI Predictstreet sparks more prediction market controversy
Many EU countries, including Germany, The Netherlands, Romania, France and Portugal have explicitly banned certain prediction platforms, such as Polymarket. Meanwhile, the British Gambling Commission has taken the view that prediction markets would be considered gambling under UK legislation and would therefore require a licence from the regulator.
Reports on ADI Predictstreet have included a piece in the renowned Norwegian investigative football magazine Josimar, which ran with the headline “Fast and Loose”. It notes that shortly after its launch on April 9, the company appointed as CEO Dimitrios Psarrakis, who reportedly worked for the former European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, who was arrested in 2022 for corruption and money laundering linked to the Qatar World Cup but denies any wrongdoing.
Other hires include Colin Piri, a Gibraltarian who was formerly employed by Wave Crest Holdings Limited, a fintech investigated for AML failings by the Financial Services Commission, and Principal Council Member Ajay Hans Raj Bhatia, who settled insider trading charges in India last year with no admission of liability.
It’s also been pointed out that many jurisdictions take several months to approve a gambling licence application.
“Sensationalist” reporting
Lyman described the controversy around the company as “sensationalist” media reporting. He told GBC that the processing time for gambling licence applications in Gibraltar can vary but typically takes “weeks not months”.
He said there was “concentrated focus on the progression of this license because of the need to license before the run up to the FIFA World Cup, but speed does not mean lack of scrutiny (in fact there was a lot of focussed scrutiny).”
As for the legislation covering the licence, he said it was initially granted under Gibraltar’s 2005 Gambling Act and then “grandfathered” under the 2025 Act a few days later.
Asked about the impact of the publicity around ADI Predictstreet, he said: “The licensing of Predictstreet has created a lot of excitement in the business community and a lot of interest in Gibraltar as a place to license gambling or gambling derivative models. We only see negativity from journalists looking naturally for a sensationalist angle in what is a newsworthy and hotly debated area.”
He added that “Being associated with a previous publicly reported “controversy” does not necessarily lead to a conclusion of a lack of fitness and propriety or unsuitability, albeit I respect the right of journalists to speculate within the boundaries of the law of defamation.”
Gibraltar’s move comes shortly after confirmation of work to evaluate the possible regulation of prediction platforms in Malta, another major hub for online gambling in Europe. Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said the country was considering the creation of a dedicated regulatory framework for the sector in a bid to resolve the question of whether the format should be considered as gambling or financial. He described the sector as having strong global momentum and significant potential for innovation.
