Maksym Shtun, Slotegrator: “Prediction markets are the first gambling product to work on people who look down on gambling”

Slotegrator’s Maksym Shtun argues that the real opportunity is reaching customers who would never place a traditional bet.

Special report.- Prediction markets are already the next major betting vertical, according to Maksym Shtun, product owner at Slotegrator, who says they are the first gambling product to work on people who look down on gambling. Rather than staking money on a roulette spin, users back their views on geopolitics, music and pop culture, which gives operators a route to audiences that traditional betting has failed to reach. In the first instalment of The Angle, Shtun explains why he believes peer-to-peer models will lead the next wave of adoption.

Prediction markets already are the next major betting vertical, and anyone who thinks they’re just a blip on the radar hasn’t been paying attention. They’re blowing up in markets around the world, particularly in places where customers are unsure about sports betting, because prediction markets are the first gambling product to work on people who look down on gambling. Customers aren’t betting on whether red or black is coming in; they are being invited to voice their opinion on matters that are meaningful to them, whether that’s geopolitics, their favourite musicians, or pop culture.

Prediction markets have been around in one form or another for hundreds of years, and if we look at the data, they cycle through periods of popularity. The difference this time is that the technology is finally there to make them possible at scale, and the level of public interest in trading, markets, and current events is higher than it’s ever been.

And that’s exactly what we should be focusing on as an industry. Prediction markets offer an opportunity to attract a new audience who wouldn’t engage with betting products in a traditional manner, but who may see value in events-based contracts more aligned with their interests. There is always a strong drive in the industry to push technological limits or invent something that nobody has ever seen before, but sometimes innovation is simply realigning products with consumer interests.

I firmly believe that prediction market adoption will pick up pace in the next two years, particularly P2P models. At the moment, there are some very large household names in the prediction market space that offer very general contracts, but the human curiosity in this product is universal. Everybody has opinions, and everybody likes to be right: they just need the right chance to be introduced to peer-to-peer betting in a way that makes sense to them.

The Angle is a new Focus Gaming News series in which industry professionals share their perspective on the topics shaping the sector’s agenda. Each instalment gives one voice the space to make their case on a single issue. The views expressed are those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Gaming News.