Sports activities Illustrated is venturing into the world of prediction markets with the launch of a brand new platform, SI Predict, in partnership with the UK-based digital advertising and marketing firm Galactic. The progressive platform will permit customers to put bets on varied facets associated to sports activities occasions—although with a big distinction: it gained’t contain betting on the result of video games. As a substitute, SI Predict will concentrate on markets similar to predicting halftime performances, recreation attendance, and different non-outcome-based occasions, making it distinct from conventional sports activities betting platforms.
SI Predict: a brand new period for fan engagement:
The first aim of SI Predict is to encourage lively participation, discussions, and fan engagement by providing a distinctive type of betting that doesn’t depend on the unpredictability of recreation outcomes. The platform’s creators hope to supply an outlet for customers to showcase their sports activities experience in a much less advanced setting than conventional playing, thereby broadening the enchantment of sports activities betting to a wider viewers. In line with the businesses concerned, the platform will foster “dialog, debate, and engagement.”
“Sports activities media is not a one-way dialog,” stated Galactic CEO Stuart Stott, as reported by Bloomberg. “Followers wish to be concerned, they usually need their opinions to have weight.” This ethos is central to SI Predict’s mission because it strikes to create an interactive platform the place followers could make predictions on components like which music a halftime performer will sing or how many individuals will attend a selected recreation.
As SI Predict plans its world rollout in Q2 2025, the platform’s launch will depend upon regulatory approvals in varied jurisdictions. Regardless of its progressive method, SI Predict is conscious of the necessity to adjust to stringent rules. The platform will adhere to the foundations set by the UK’s Monetary Conduct Authority and the U.S. Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC), each of which oversee prediction markets and derivatives. Nonetheless, SI Predict’s construction as a non-custodial platform implies that it might not have to be topic to the identical rules as conventional sportsbooks.
Stott famous, “As a non-custodial platform, it doesn’t have to be regulated,” whereas additionally emphasizing that SI Predict’s occasions shall be targeted on by-product contracts, or what are akin to futures markets. These contracts permit customers to make predictions on sports-related occasions, which don’t immediately relate to the sport’s end result however concentrate on ancillary occasions surrounding the video games.
The rising prediction market panorama:
SI Predict enters an more and more aggressive discipline of prediction markets, which has seen vital curiosity lately. Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, in addition to main monetary corporations like Robinhood, have launched comparable merchandise that permit customers to wager on non-traditional outcomes associated to occasions like sports activities, politics, and even leisure.
Within the U.S., regulatory our bodies such because the CFTC have scrutinized these platforms, particularly as they enter the sports activities area. The CFTC lately hosted roundtable discussions in regards to the regulation of occasion contracts, which embody predictions on sporting occasions’ non-game-related components. This consideration is because of the rising demand for such markets, particularly with the U.S. Supreme Court docket’s 2018 ruling lifting the federal ban on sports activities betting.
Main entities like Main League Baseball (MLB) have expressed considerations in regards to the integrity of those markets, notably as they aren’t topic to the identical regulatory scrutiny as conventional sportsbooks. The MLB has urged the CFTC to determine an “integrity framework” for prediction markets to forestall knowledge manipulation and make sure the equity of those occasions.
The introduction of SI Predict marks Sports activities Illustrated’s return to the sports activities betting sector following the closure of its earlier enterprise, SI Sportsbook and On line casino, in partnership with 888 Holdings. That partnership ended when 888 determined to half methods with Genuine Manufacturers Group, the guardian firm of Sports activities Illustrated, following a strategic evaluate of its U.S. operations. 888 agreed to a $25 million termination price, signaling the tip of SI Sportsbook’s operations within the U.S.
Regardless of this exit, Sports activities Illustrated’s new enterprise with Galactic highlights the model’s continued curiosity within the broader sports activities gaming panorama. As sports activities betting continues to evolve, SI Predict represents a forward-thinking method that might redefine how followers have interaction with sports activities occasions and prediction markets alike.
