World Lottery Association Proposes Regulation of Prediction Markets on Par with Sports Betting

(AsiaGameHub) –   The organization has issued warnings regarding risks to sports integrity, consumer safeguards, and fair competition.

Switzerland – The World Lottery Association (WLA) has released a position paper expressing concerns over the fast growth of prediction markets and advocating that these products should face the same regulatory rules as sports betting.

The report, named Prediction Markets: Unlicensed Betting by Another Name — Threats to Sports Integrity, Consumer Protection, and the Lottery and Betting Sector, makes the case that contracts tied to sports and event results have the same core traits as betting products and thus ought to be regulated in a corresponding manner.

The WLA has called for increased collaboration between gambling and financial market regulators to fill regulatory loopholes and ensure prediction market operators adhere to licensing, consumer protection, integrity, and public-interest duties similar to those required of regulated lottery and betting providers.

As part of its suggestions, the association proposed that any product providing a financial gain connected to a sports event’s result should be categorized as a bet, no matter what name the operator uses for it.

The paper encourages regulators to clearly evaluate the legal standing of prediction market products to prevent inconsistencies in how functionally similar activities are handled. It asserts that even if these products are categorized as financial tools, they should still be subject to protections equal to those used in the gambling industry.

The WLA emphasized the sector’s notable expansion. Based on its calculations, global prediction market transaction volumes surpassed US$13 billion monthly by the end of 2025 and hit US$26 billion in January 2026. The association stated that over 90 percent of the activity is related to sports and other event-focused contracts.

The report also brings up issues related to sports integrity. The WLA warned that the lack of monitoring systems, suspicious transaction reporting, and insider trading restrictions could open doors for malicious actors to benefit from rigged results.

It also alerted to gaps in consumer protection. Unlike licensed gambling operators, numerous prediction market platforms don’t have to put in place age verification processes, self-exclusion features, spending caps, or responsible gambling support systems. Lastly, the paper expresses worries about a competitive unfairness, as prediction market platforms can compete for the same customers without shouldering the costs of compliance, taxes, and contributions to public-interest projects, or being bound by those obligations, per the WLA.