A third of young Americans view prediction markets as the future and actively engage with them, according to a survey by The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital, which included over 3,000 U.S. residents.
31% of respondents believe the sector will become an important part of culture. However, awareness of it varies significantly by age.
Among Generation Z and millennials, awareness of the Polymarket platform is 17%, and Kalshi is 13%. For Generation X and older, these figures are only 4% and 5%, respectively.
Young Americans do not see a clear frontrunner in the race for the future of gambling entertainment.
An almost equal number of respondents (34% versus 31%) believe that traditional sports betting and prediction markets will gain greater importance, respectively. Another 38-39% of participants think the significance of both phenomena will remain unchanged.
A Record Month
The scale of prediction platforms is rapidly expanding. In January alone, the combined turnover on such platforms exceeded a record $10 billion.
The majority comes from Kalshi — over $3 billion. The second place is held by Opinion, supported by YZi Labs and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, with $2.8 billion. It is followed by Polymarket with $2.7 billion.
The sector is also attracting investor attention. In the second half of 2025, Kalshi’s valuation reached $11 billion after several funding rounds involving Sequoia Capital, CapitalG, Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Anthos Capital, and Neo.
Polymarket received $2 billion from Intercontinental Exchange, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange. The platform’s capitalization amounted to $9 billion. Currently, the project is negotiating to attract additional investments at a valuation of $12 billion to $15 billion.
Polymarket’s New Partnership
Polymarket has signed an exclusive partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS), the largest professional football league in the U.S.
Under the deal, the platform will gain rights to create prediction markets for key MLS events, including the MLS Cup, conference matches, and the All-Star Game.
The collaboration also includes developing new fan engagement formats such as interactive “second screens” during live broadcasts.
“As the football audience in the U.S. grows and evolves, fans are looking for new ways to dive deeper into the game,” commented Polymarket founder and CEO Shane Coplan.
In early January, Polymarket became the exclusive data provider for The Wall Street Journal. Prior to this, the platform also partnered with Yahoo Finance and Google Finance.
Kalshi’s U.S. Expansion
Kalshi has announced the opening of a new office in Washington, D.C., to strengthen strategic engagement and lobbying efforts with U.S. authorities.
As part of the expansion, the platform appointed political strategist John Bivona as its first head of federal government relations. Under the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden, he served as the White House representative at the Department of Homeland Security.
To manage state-level operations, Kalshi hired Blake Bee, a former senior manager for state and local policy at Amazon.
Analysts at a16z crypto predicted an increase in the popularity of prediction markets in 2026. They believe such platforms will become larger, broader, and more complex due to the intersection of crypto technologies and artificial intelligence.