UK financial watchdog weighs lifting prediction markets ban: Report

Latest NewsPublishedSep 7, 2026Companies offering binary options for retail investors have been barred from selling, marketing and distributing products in the UK since 2019 following a directive from the FCA.The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reportedly has reached out to prediction market companies as part of discussions over whether the regulator would loosen a ban for retail investors, in place since 2019.According to a Friday report from The Times, the FCA is weighing lifting a ban on prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi for UK-based retail investors. Because prediction markets offer binary options on event contracts, such as for sports, politics and the weather, they fall under an April 2019 ban imposed by the FCA, in which companies were “prohibited from selling, marketing or distributing binary options to retail consumers.”“Binary options are gambling products dressed up as financial instruments,” said the FCA’s executive director of strategy and competition, Christopher Woolard, at the time of the ban.According to The Times report, many retail investors based in the UK have been using virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the country’s restric...