What Are Prediction Markets?
Polymarket and Kalshi are prediction market platforms — venues where users trade contracts on the outcome of real-world events rather than placing a bet with a bookmaker. A contract pays out $1 if the event happens and $0 if it doesn't, and its price between those two figures reflects the market's live-priced probability. Elections, economic data releases, central bank decisions, and — increasingly — sports outcomes are all listed as tradeable contracts.
Kalshi operates as a CFTC-designated contract market in the United States, listing event contracts under a derivatives-style regulatory framework. Polymarket runs on a blockchain settlement layer, with contracts funded and settled in USDC. Both have expanded well beyond their original niche and now carry meaningful volume on sports-adjacent markets, putting them on the radar of the same professional bettors who already use betting exchanges and Asian books.
For a bettor used to fixed-odds sportsbooks, the appeal is similar to what drew sharp bettors to exchanges in the first place: prices set by the market rather than by a bookmaker with a built-in margin, and the ability to trade a position rather than simply hold a bet to settlement.
Why Polymarket and Kalshi Restrict Access
Neither platform was designed to onboard bettors from every country, and both apply restrictions that mirror the licensing model of a regulated (or semi-regulated) financial venue rather than a global consumer sportsbook:
- Kalshi is registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and built primarily around U.S.-based account holders. Access outside its supported jurisdictions is limited or unavailable, and onboarding requires the identity verification standard for a regulated derivatives venue.
- Polymarket applies its own mix of geo-blocking, KYC checks, and jurisdiction-based exclusions, shaped by the compliance decisions it has made as a crypto-settled platform navigating different regulatory postures around the world.
The practical effect is the same one professional bettors already recognise from exchange access: a platform with genuinely useful pricing that a meaningful share of the world's bettors simply cannot open an account on directly, regardless of their experience or bankroll.
How a Broker Gives You Access
This is exactly the gap a betting broker is built to close. A broker that adds prediction market connectivity does not require you to open a separate Polymarket or Kalshi account, clear their onboarding independently, or — in Polymarket's case — manage a crypto wallet and USDC funding yourself. Instead, the broker's own account, verified and funded the way you would for any other broker product, becomes the front end.
The broker holds the underlying relationship with the prediction market (or the technical infrastructure to route into it) and exposes the eligible contracts inside its own platform. You browse and trade positions the same way you would use the broker for sharp bookmaker or exchange access, and the broker handles execution, currency conversion, and settlement behind the scenes — the same operating model described in how betting brokers work.
This matters most for bettors based in a country where Polymarket or Kalshi does not accept direct sign-ups. Because the broker is licensed and structured differently from the prediction market itself, it can offer a compliant route where a direct account is not an option — the same logic that already applies to broker access to Asian books and exchanges.
Which Brokers Offer Prediction Market Access
Three established sports betting brokers currently extend their platforms into prediction markets, each through a distinct product:
The three approaches differ mainly in packaging: Madmarket and BetInAsia treat prediction market access as a named, separate tool sitting alongside their core betting product, while SportMarket bundles it into the account every client already has. Which structure suits you best depends on whether you want prediction markets as a discrete feature you opt into, or simply available by default. Our broader comparisons of best betting brokers and how to choose a betting broker cover these three platforms across their full range of markets, not just prediction contracts.
Prediction Markets vs Betting Exchanges
Bettors familiar with betting exchanges will recognise the underlying mechanics — both are peer-to-peer, order-book-driven, and priced by trading activity rather than a bookmaker's margin. The key differences worth knowing before trading a contract through a broker:
- Contract structure: Exchange bets settle as a standard bet (back or lay at odds); prediction market contracts settle at $1 or $0 based on a binary outcome, with the traded price representing implied probability rather than decimal or fractional odds.
- Event scope: Exchanges are built around sports outcomes. Polymarket and Kalshi list a much broader event universe — politics, economics, and current affairs — alongside a growing but still narrower set of sports contracts.
- Settlement layer: Kalshi settles through standard regulated-market channels; Polymarket settles on-chain in USDC, which introduces a crypto dimension that a traditional exchange account does not have.
- Access barriers: Both suffer from the same geographic and verification restrictions discussed above — which is exactly why the broker solution described in why bettors use brokers to access betting exchanges extends naturally to prediction markets as well.
Who Should Use Broker Access to Prediction Markets
Broker-routed prediction market access is most useful for:
- Bettors in countries Polymarket or Kalshi don't serve directly — for whom a broker is the only practical route in.
- Existing broker clients who want prediction market exposure without opening and funding an entirely separate platform (and, for Polymarket, without setting up crypto infrastructure).
- Multi-market bettors already using a broker for sharp books and exchanges, who want event contracts available in the same unified wallet.
- Bettors exploring cross-market pricing between sportsbook-style odds and event-contract pricing on the same outcome, in the spirit of traditional arbitrage betting.
Bettors who already hold a direct Polymarket or Kalshi account in an eligible jurisdiction gain little from routing through a broker instead — the value here is specifically about access and consolidation, not better pricing on a market you can already reach directly.
Getting Started
If you already hold an account with Madmarket, BetInAsia, or SportMarket, the fastest step is to check directly with the broker whether prediction market access (Edge, Black, or the standard offer) is enabled for your account and available in your country. If you are opening a new account specifically for this purpose, confirm eligibility before funding, since availability still depends on both the broker's licensing footprint and the underlying platform's own restrictions.
For bettors new to the broker model generally, our overview of what is a betting broker and our broker security and licensing guide are the right starting points before opening any account.