UK Set to Launch Its First Prediction Markets Platform

The United Kingdom is preparing to launch its first prediction markets platform. The project is being developed by betting exchange Matchbook, The Telegraph reports, with a launch expected in the coming weeks.

The platform will allow users to trade “yes” or “no” contracts with one another on sports events as well as selected public and political outcomes. Such markets operate on a peer-to-peer model, with the operator earning revenue by charging a commission on each transaction.

Prediction markets are already well established in the United States. Last year, total trading volume in the segment reached approximately $44 billion. The largest operators include Kalshi and Polymarket, although neither platform is currently available to users in the UK.

Matchbook chief executive Ronan McDonagh said the company had initially planned to launch its prediction markets product in the United States, but ultimately decided to introduce it in the UK first.

Development work on the platform continued for most of last year. An application to operate in the US was submitted in October, but its review was delayed due to the temporary shutdown of the US federal government.

McDonagh noted that betting exchanges and prediction markets are fundamentally similar products, with the main differences lying in interface design and certain functional features.

According to him, Matchbook already holds the necessary licences and has the technical infrastructure required to roll out the new format in the UK.

The British version of the prediction markets platform will operate under restrictions. In the UK, such products are classified as gambling and do not allow the broad range of unconventional contracts seen in the US. By contrast, prediction markets in the United States are regulated as financial instruments, which gives them a more flexible legal framework.

Matchbook was previously controlled by a group of investors that included Matthew Benham, owner of Brentford. The company is now majority-owned by Australian businessman and professional bettor Zeljko Ranogajec. Matchbook is registered in Guernsey, a Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom.

Previously, Gambling Park reported on the phased withdrawal of bookmaker GGBet from the UK market.