Australia rules ‘prediction markets’ are gambling

When Australia’s online gambling watchdog reviewed a new online platform that allowed Australians to make money by correctly predicting the outcomes of events such as sports matches, it had to answer a fundamental question: Was it gambling or – as the platform Polymarket claimed – a financial tool?

The Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) response, revealed in documents obtained through a freedom of information request, is a landmark decision with huge implications for the future of the gambling industry in Australia.