Polymarket to return to US after accurately predicting Trump win: founder

Election betting platform Polymarket has plans to return to the US on its success accurately predicting President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping win over Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House.Polymarket is currently only available to customers outside of the US – including the French “whale” trader who infamously bet millions of dollars on a Trump win and raked in about $48 million in profits after the election was called.In 2022, the platform paused trading in the US and paid a $1.4 million penalty to settle charges with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that it had failed to register with the agency.“I want to give a lot of credit to the people who fought the battle to go and legalize political prediction markets in America,” Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan told CNBC “Squawk Box” on Thursday.“Now we are in the position to be aggressive around expansion.”Coplan has rival betting platform Kalshi to thank after a key ruling in October lifted a pause on Kalshi’s operations and allowed election contract trading. “A showing of irreparable harm is a necessary prerequisite for a stay,” Judge Patricia Millett wrote in the ruling.Polymarket’s election betting was a smash hit this year – with gamblers placing more than $3.7 billion on bets.The morning before Election Day, the betting site said Trump had a 58.6% chance of winning the presidency while Harris’ odds stood at 41.4%, according to the Polymarket site.

The site’s bets were a more accurate prediction than the most recent polls.“On Polymarket it looked like a done deal, and if you were just watching TV, you would think it’s neck and neck,” Coplan said.The 26-year-old brains behind Polymarket created the betting site when he was just 21 years old.  Those who believe betting sites are the next big polling tool argue the markets react faster to changes in sentiment and keep voters engaged.After seeing Kalshi’s runaway success with election betting, ...