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Summary:
- Higher Roller Technologies plans to enter the prediction market sector next month.
- CEO Seth Young sees major growth potential, saying prediction markets can reach audiences beyond traditional limits.
- Legal uncertainty is still a major issue.
Higher Roller Technologies is preparing to enter the increasingly crowded prediction market sector next month, with CEO Seth Young arguing that the industry could represent a major opportunity for companies able to reach new audiences.
“We’re Witnessing a Generational Shift”
Young, a former chief innovation officer at PointsBet who spent two decades in regulated gaming, said prediction markets are changing the way consumers approach wagering and trading. Young said during a panel at Predict 2026 in New York,
I think we are witnessing a generational shift in how wagering or trading activity is consumed
He said the potential market is much broader than traditional regulated sports betting, particularly because prediction platforms can offer contracts covering a wider range of subjects.
“The market is massive” Young said, adding that prediction markets can reach consumers through different types of businesses, from crypto exchanges and social networks to gaming companies.
Higher Roller is among a growing number of businesses looking to take advantage of that demand. Young said prediction markets can serve different purposes depending on the company, whether as a core product, an additional offering or another section within an existing platform.
Young pointed to a Macquarie Group report that forecast taker volume of around $1.5 billion and a potential industry revenue opportunity of $50 billion. Even a 2% share of that projected market, he said, could represent a $1 billion top-line business.
He compared the current environment with the development of daily fantasy sports, particularly the second wave of companies that expanded the sector beyond its original audience.
Not the Usual “You Versus the House” Model
Wager Wire co-founder Travis Geiger, who joined Young on the panel, said prediction markets are also benefiting from dissatisfaction with the traditional sportsbook model.
Several sportsbook brands that entered the U.S. market following the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision overturning the federal sports betting ban have struggled or exited the market, including ESPN BET, Sports Illustrated Sportsbook, SuperBook and WynnBET.
Geiger argued that prediction markets have created a different environment because they are not built around the same “you versus the house” model associated with traditional sportsbooks.
He also warned operators against relying too heavily on advertising and inducements as the sector develops.
The industry’s biggest challenge, however, remains legal uncertainty over sports-related event contracts.
Young described those contracts as financial products rather than gambling. Geiger noted that the classification differs across jurisdictions, pointing out that such products are treated as gambling in Europe.
Gaming and sports betting attorney Dan Wallach said the distinction will likely need to be settled by the courts. He expects cases involving sports event contracts and prediction markets could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
The central question is whether sports event contracts should be treated as derivatives regulated at the federal level or as sports betting subject to state and tribal gaming laws.
Wallach said 38 of 44 judicial decisions addressing the issue have sided with states and tribes, finding that sports event contracts should fall under state or tribal gambling regulations.
It’s an uncertain legal terrain but certainly has not gone as well for the prediction markets as some of the early cases would have suggested
For companies preparing to enter the sector, that uncertainty could shape the market’s future as much as consumer demand. Higher Roller is moving ahead with its planned launch, but the rules governing sports-related prediction markets remain unsettled.
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