Google is helping push prediction platforms to mass consciousness thanks to its new partnership with Kalshi and Polymarket.
Key Takeaways
- The agreement will help customers compare real-world stock performances with trading data.
- The NHL last month became the first major sports league to partner with Kalshi and Polymarket.
- Crypto exchange Gemini announced it plans to compete in the prediction industry.
Google announced the update will be rolled out over the next few weeks.
Google Finance displays a variety of financial data, including stock portfolios, market indexes, top gainers, the most active stocks, and more. By incorporating data from prediction platforms, users will be able to see how changes to stocks affected their outlook from traders.
“The new, AI-powered Google Finance is built to help you make sense of the financial world,” the announcement reads. “(Google Finance users can) ask questions about future market events and harness the wisdom of crowds.”
Additionally, Google is adding support for its prediction markets. The announcement said asking a question such as “What will GDP growth be for 2025?” in the search bar will prompt Google to show the current and past probabilities from Kalshi and Polymarket.
Search Labs users will be the first to have the opportunity to harness the prediction platforms’ integration.
A groundbreaking partnership
The partnership is not only the first of its kind, it is a harbinger of the acceptance toward the gambling industry. What was once highly stigmatized is becoming increasingly popular in a variety of forms, whether that be legal sports betting, retail and online casino gaming, daily fantasy sports, sweepstakes casinos, or now, prediction markets.
Kalshi and Polymarket are quickly gaining momentum. The pair reported they had accepted more than half a billion in trades related to the outcome of the New York City mayoral race, which was won by Democrat Zohran Mamdani earlier this week.
Both platforms also partnered with the NHL near the end of October, marking the first time a major American professional sports league has joined forces with a prediction outlet.
“Teaming up with the NHL is an important milestone for Kalshi and the industry at large,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said in a statement at the time of the deal. “It should be clear now - prediction markets are here to stay.”
Many state gaming regulators still haven’t bought into prediction platforms, largely because of their offerings of sports event contracts. Regulators and commercial sportsbooks argue these allow prediction platforms to effectively act as sports betting operators without requiring proper licensing.
However, prediction platforms maintain they are within their right to offer these contracts since they are in compliance with the regulations established by the Future Commodities Trading Commission (CFTC), their governing body.
Gemini joining prediction industry
While Kalshi and Polymarket are growing rapidly, they could soon come under fire from a new competitor.
Earlier this week, it was revealed crypto exchange Gemini is planning to launch a CFTC-regulated trading platform. The company went public in September and is waiting to receive necessary licensing.
