Counselors Urged to Track $24 Billion Prediction-Market Boom as Addiction Risks Rise
Updated
Updated · Psychology Today · Jun 14
Counselors Urged to Track $24 Billion Prediction-Market Boom as Addiction Risks Rise
3 articles · Updated · Psychology Today · Jun 14
Summary
$24 billion in April trading on Kalshi and Polymarket has prompted new guidance that counselors learn how prediction markets work and screen clients for gambling-like harms.
Prediction markets let users trade yes-or-no contracts on future events, and their constant availability, real-time odds, incentives and push notifications may encourage continuous play and chasing losses.
The platforms sit in a disputed zone between investing and gambling: they are regulated by the CFTC and framed as trading, but critics say they still involve risking value for a larger payoff.
Counselors are advised to watch for DSM-5 gambling-disorder signs such as loss of control, preoccupation, failed attempts to stop and financial fallout, then use tools including CBT, motivational interviewing and peer support referrals.