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FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan

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249 points jaboutboul | 1 comments | 13 Nov 24 21:29 UTC | HN request time: 0.207s | source
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beejiu ◴[13 Nov 24 22:09 UTC] No.42130650[source]▶
Can we please stop calling them "prediction markets". This only legitimizes what they really are, "gambling exchanges".
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nickff ◴[13 Nov 24 22:17 UTC] No.42130759[source]▶
I am not familiar with the term 'gambling exchange', where'd you get it? Many 'sportsbooks' are referred to as 'betting exchanges', but that has become something of a term of art, much like the term 'prediction market'.

In any case, attempting to use a derogatory or denigrating euphemism to refer to something is usually less productive than simply exposing (what you perceive to be) its faults. What specific issues do you have with these markets/exchanges?

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beejiu ◴[13 Nov 24 22:24 UTC] No.42130825[source]▶
But it is not derogatory or euphemistic, it is descriptive. Polymarket is gambling by any definition. Gambling is known and proven to have great harms and risks to society.

(And I got the term "gambling exchange" from the UK where Betfair Exhange basically does what Polymarket do since 2000, without the Crypto glamour.)

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sitzkrieg ◴[13 Nov 24 22:26 UTC] No.42130850[source]▶
are futures markets gambling in your eyes because speculators can participate?
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1. beejiu ◴[13 Nov 24 22:48 UTC] No.42131073[source]▶
I can only speak from a UK perspective, but many financial instruments can be used in a gambling sense by retail "investors". In 2019, our regulator banned binary options, saying this:

"Binary options are gambling products dressed up as financial instruments. By confirming our ban today we are ensuring that investors don’t lose money from an inherently flawed product."

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/fca-confirms-permanen....

Sound familiar?

They also highly regulate CFDs and other financial instruments that are marketed to retail.