Rima Grace

All right, that is all for today.

This episode was lead produced by Alice Wilder, and I'm your host, Rima Grace.

Zoe Saunders is our senior producer, audio engineering by Drew Jostad.

Bridget Bodner is Marketplace's director of podcasts.

Marketplace's chief content officer is Joanne Griffith.

Neil Scarborough is vice president and general manager of Marketplace.

And our theme music is by Wonderly.

All right, we'll catch you all next week.

I'm Rima Grace, and this week on my podcast, This is Uncomfortable, we're looking at the rise of prediction markets, where you can bet on everything from sports and pop culture to political headlines, a multi-billion dollar industry that's growing at a time when more Americans are questioning the traditional paths to wealth.

Hi, I'm Rima Grace, and welcome to This is Uncomfortable.

This month, you've got millions of people gambling on March Madness, placing wagers on which basketball team will take the national title.

A lot of folks, they're betting on apps like FanDuel or DraftKings.

But this year, we're also seeing more people placing their sports bets on something called prediction markets.

These are places on the internet where, yeah, you can bet on sports, but also you can bet on anything.

Elections, cultural events, natural disasters.

On websites like Kalshi and Polymarket, you can find people wagering on everything from who will be the next supreme leader of Iran to which contestant will win the reality game show Survivor.

There's a lot to dig into when it comes to prediction markets.

They operate in this kind of legal gray area.

They're not subject to gambling regulations, which a lot of states aren't thrilled about.

Just last week, Arizona filed criminal charges against Kalshi, arguing that it's an illegal gambling operation.