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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: 0s | 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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pembrook ◴[14 Nov 24 00:03 UTC] No.42131641[source]▶
I presume you also feel strongly that people should call health/life/car/homeowners insurance "gambling?"

Because insurance is quite literally a prediction market.

Not trying to be snarky, I know certain religions actually do consider insurance to be gambling.

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beejiu ◴[14 Nov 24 00:12 UTC] No.42131704[source]▶
No, because even though insurance companies make profit, the primary motivation of insurance is risk pooling amongst the policyholders. This is not the case for those trading binary options or similar instruments (except for "hedging" - a legitimate use case of producers buying futures, for example).
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1. zer8k ◴[14 Nov 24 18:45 UTC] No.42139639{3}[source]▶
This is only true because you've minced words.

An insurance company sells options contracts. We call it healthcare. It is , aside from a few small differences, the same as a put or a call.

An insurance company's day-to-day operation is indistinguishable from a derivatives hedge desk. Insurance companies absolutely take massive bets. These are managed by re-insurers.