Matchbook to launch British prediction market platform
The operator plans to ”road test” its tech before expanding to the US to compete against the likes of Kalshi, Polymarket, FanDuel Predicts and Crypyo.com.
UK.- The operator of the peer-to-peer sports betting exchange Matchbook has confirmed plans to launch a prediction market platform in the Britain. The Guernsey-registered operator intends to launch the platform in January to “road test” the technology before expanding to the US to compete against the likes of Kalshi, Polymarket, FanDuel Predicts and Crypyo.com in the US.
Prediction markets are booming in the US but have yet to be tried in the UK, where traditional betting platforms have long offered betting markets on politics and pop culture. Matchbook operates as a betting exchange in the UK. The new offering will be launched under its existing Gambling Commission licence but will display a percentage probability for ‘yes’ or ‘no’ outcomes rather than traditional fractional odds.
Bloomberg has reported that the operator will also make a white-label prediction market product for easyBet, part of the group created by easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
Matchbook, run by Triplebet, was launched in 2004. It’s now majority owned by the professional gambler Zeljko Ranogajec. Matthew Benham, the owner of Brentford FC, still has a small stake.
While the UK has a long tradition of sports betting, the launch is expected to test if the appetite for prediction markets is as strong as in the UK. The trading platform Robinhood, which runs prediction markets in the US, has previously expressed interest in launching the format in Britain, but has not advanced.
Bloomberg quoted Matchbook’s interim chief executive officer Ronan McDonagh as saying: “It’s not new in the sense that it works on the same engine as an exchange. It should be more understandable, so I think we’re hopeful that it captures a new audience or it intrigues people to have a look.”
As for Matchbook’s US plans, its partner RSBIX LLC lodged an application for an exchange with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission in September. Five years ago, the company, which is led by Jeff Ifrah, had failed to obtain approval to offer NFL contracts with a different partner five years ago.
McDonagh is quoted as saying that the company expects US approval as soon as March.
“We’re not sentimental about going in as Matchbook,” Bloomberg quoted McDonagh as saying. “We’ve been in the exchange business so long and we’ve got a really strong tech platform. We’ve got strong market making partners, liquidity and a great product. We’ll be able to complete on day one in the US.”
In the US, Kalshi and Polymarket are federally regulated as financial exchanges and offer event contracts on topics ranging from politics to sports and pop culture. However, some states in the US have sought to contest that, arguing that their products should be considered as gambling rather than financial trading, taking legal action in some cases.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) and tribal bodies have been lobbying against the format. Meanwhile, Kalshi, Crypto.com, Coinbase, Robinhood and Underdog recently formed a trade body, the Coalition for Prediction Markets (CPM) to lobby for the sector.
