'It turns the entire world into a casino' - Polymarket explained

'It turns the entire world into a casino' - Polymarket explained

From Radio National Breakfast by ABC Australia

April 29, 2026 · 9 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the rise of unregulated online prediction markets like Polymarket and a recent legal case involving a U.S. soldier.

Betting on everything and anything has seen a surge in unregulated online prediction markets, like Polymarket. In the latest development, a U.S. special forces soldier pleaded not guilty to charges that he used classified information about the mission to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to win more than $400,000 on Polymarket. Gannon Ken Van Dyke made the plea in a New York federal court yesterday. So how is polymarket being used to observe and predict military strikes? GUEST: Bobby Allyn, NPR tech correspondent PRODUCER: Eddy Diamond

People in this episode

Guest: Bobby Allyn

Topics covered

  • online prediction markets
  • Polymarket
  • military strikes
  • betting
  • unregulated markets

Keywords

  • Polymarket
  • betting
  • prediction markets
  • military strikes
  • Nicolás Maduro
  • Gannon Ken Van Dyke

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NPR, Polymarket

Places: United States, Venezuela, New York

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