Prediction market PredictIt gets CFTC approval to launch regulated US exchange

Sept 5 (Reuters) - PredictIt, a prediction market platform where users can buy and sell shares on the outcomes of future events, has received approvals to operate as a regulated derivatives exchange, its operator Aristotle said on Friday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved Aristotle's applications to operate both as an exchange and a clearing house.

The approval comes days after CFTC also paved the way for Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market, to relaunch in the United States, more than three years after its exit.

Aristotle now plans to launch a new exchange, expected to open for trading in October.

Prediction markets, which allow investors to bet on the likelihood of specific events, have exploded in popularity in the U.S. since the 2024 presidential election.

"Prediction markets help people understand the future, and this approval allows us to deliver the most robust and transparent version of that vision yet," said John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of Aristotle.

It has operated political prediction market PredictIt for more than a decade.