IG Group Set to Launch Prediction Markets Product in the UK in Q4

Financial services provider IG Group expects to launch its prediction markets product in the UK in the fourth quarter of this year, at a time where the UK market could be set to become far more competitive.

IG – a FTSE 100 company – traditionally operates as a financial services company. The group announced in July the intention to expand into prediction markets with the planned acquisition of daily fantasy sports and prediction markets operator Underdog for an initial $1.1 billion, rising to a potential $1.3 billion if certain performance metrics are hit; the deal is expected to complete in late 2026 or early 2027.

License application pending

IG currently has a license application pending with British regulator the Gambling Commission. The Commission’s website shows a license application from IG View Limited for a General Betting Standard – Real Event license. The group’s IG Consumer arm, which handles the company's retail investing and consumer-facing operations, will lead the launch of the prediction markets offering.

At a capital markets event, IG said:

“IG’s unified proposition, which brings trading, investing and crypto together on a single platform, is now live in the UK and will be rolled out across IG Consumer. Financial prediction markets will launch in Q4 2026 for UK professional clients. IG Consumer has also applied for a UK gambling license and expects to broaden its markets to include politics, entertainment and sports in early 2027.”

IG Group’s CEO Breon Corcoran is very familiar with the regulated gambling market in the UK, having served as CEO of Betfair from 2012 to 2016 and then Paddy Power Betfair from 2016 to 2018, after overseeing the merger between the two operators, which led to the formation of Flutter Entertainment. IG Consumer is overseen by CEO Michael Healy, who was Paddy Power’s Commercial Director from 2012 to 2017.

A potentially competitive market

There is a possibility competition in the UK prediction market space is about to heat up. Earlier this month, Simon Walls, Executive Director at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), confirmed US prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket have held talks with the FCA about the prospect of launching in the UK.

Entry into the UK for both brands may not be straightforward, as the FCA prohibited selling binary options in the UK in 2019. The ban prevents companies acting in or from the UK from selling, marketing, or distributing binary options to retail consumers. In its Perimeter Report, the FCA ruled prediction markets to be binary options which would make them subject to the ban.

In January, Matchbook owner Triplebet became the UK’s first official prediction markets operator when it repackaged the sportsbook at its EasyBet brand as a prediction market. When ADI Predictstreet launched in the UK in June, Predictstreet.matchbook.com was listed among the domain names under Triplebet’s Gambling Commission license as part of a carriage deal.

Difference from the US

Should IG Group’s launch in the UK come to fruition, it will be subject to oversight from both the Commission and the FCA. In the US, operators have been rejecting the idea of being gambling operators. However, this is likely because they have found it easier to gain licensure from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

While Minnesota is the only state to have placed an outright ban on prediction markets, more than 10 states are currently in litigation with prediction market operators, including Nevada and New Jersey.