UW professor Justin Sydnor examines prediction markets growth in PBS interview
University of Wisconsin professor Justin Sydnor discussed the expansion of prediction markets in a PBS Wisconsin interview published October 21. Sydnor, who teaches risk management and insurance, explained how prediction markets differ from other forecasting methods. The interview came days after an earlier PBS Wisconsin discussion where Sydnor addressed political and election betting markets. Both interviews focused on market growth rather than specific regulatory or accuracy claims.
Academic attention from risk-management faculty like Sydnor signals that prediction markets are migrating from tech and trading circles into mainstream business-school curricula. That shift widens the talent pool and research funding that platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket can draw on, but it also means more scholars will scrutinize whether these markets actually improve forecasting or merely repackage gambling. Business schools train the compliance officers, risk managers, and regulators who will shape how event contracts get supervised.
Sydnor's framing of prediction markets as distinct forecasting tools gains traction in curriculum, graduates entering the CFTC and state agencies will bring that lens to enforcement decisions. Platforms now face the dual task of convincing both seasoned regulators and newly minted analysts that their products deserve commodity treatment rather than gambling labels. The schools that educate both sides are becoming the battleground where that framing gets locked in.