OPINION — Family-owned and local businesses are the lifeblood of America, contributing trillions of dollars to the economy and standing as proud symbols of our national heritage. The health of Main Street is tied to the financial well-being of communities nationwide.
Unfortunately, a new threat has emerged that is sucking money out of the country’s pockets and diverting spending away from small businesses.
Prediction markets, which present themselves to regulators and the public as legitimate forms of investing, are actually nothing more than thinly veiled gambling sites. These platforms say they allow users to trade on anything, such as what the president will say at his next public appearance, the weather tomorrow and whether the United States will confirm the existence of aliens. In reality, the overwhelming majority of volume on these platforms is nothing more than sports betting.
