Summary
- Nebraska is yet to legalize online sports betting, yet prediction markets already offer futures contracts on sports events
- Young adults can tap into prediction markets as soon as they turn 18, and some are already facing financial difficulties, one expert says
- The expansion of legal betting normalizes gambling as an addition to watching sports
In the wake of the potential expansion of sports betting with online wagering, Nebraska is exhibiting a concerning trend. While the state doesn’t offer online sports betting, prediction markets offer a similar form of entertainment and those markets impact young adults and college students, experts warn.
Young adults face financial difficulties due to prediction markets
Unlike traditional sports betting, online or via a retail outlet, prediction markets enable users to trade futures contracts. While that process sounds different, and it technically is, in reality, sports prediction markets and sports betting is similar. However, while most U.S. states require bettors to be aged 21 or older, prediction markets offered by platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket can be accessed by individuals 18 or older. According to Jessica MacDonald, the Nebraska Commission on Problem Gambling’s Marketing Communications Specialist, who was recently interviewed by the Daily Nebraskan, college students across the state are already affected by sports prediction markets. Recognizing the trend as a real problem that keeps growing, the expert said: The biggest problem is a lot of, especially college-age males, has become that they’re getting into a lot of financial difficulties. MacDonald explained that one of the major issues with prediction markets is the lack of effective regulation of the vertical. This, she says, results in a growing competition as every platform fights for every user and tries to get a bigger and bigger piece of the pie.
Gambling is addictive and young adults are vulnerable and impressionable
One of the reasons why young adults and college students are mostly affected by at-risk or problem gambling is the nature of the activity itself. Gambling is designed to be addictive. They design you to keep doing it and keep coming back, MacDonald explained. She further added that as the brains of young adults are still developing, they are very vulnerable and impressionable, which is why they are more likely to be impacted by gambling-related issues. At the same time, the growing popularity of sports betting and the legal expansion of the activity blur the line between sports and wagering, thus normalizing the latter. Mike Sciandra, the Nebraska Council on Problem Gambling’s Executive Director, revealed that prediction markets enable placing wagers on an infinite number of activities. Concerningly, he added that online sports betting mechanics primarily target younger adults. While online sports betting is yet to be legalized in Nebraska, it looks like lawmakers would need to consider policies regulating prediction markets. While legal sports betting has been expanding since 2018, prediction markets have taken the country by storm, despite scrutiny by lawmakers and gambling regulators.
