Plus500 widens prediction markets push with Fed, jobs and sports event contracts
Plus500 has expanded into prediction markets with event contracts tied to Federal Reserve rate decisions, U.S. jobs reports, CPI releases and U.S. sports. The online trading platform now offers binary contracts that settle at $1 or $0 based on whether a macroeconomic threshold is met. Barchart.com published guides explaining the price mechanics and settlement structure. The move extends Plus500's product range beyond its traditional contracts-for-difference business as it targets the growing retail event-contract market.
Plus500 enters a retail event-contract market where venue reliability is becoming a competitive weapon. Competitors with direct CFTC registrations, including Kalshi and ForecastEx, can promise users uninterrupted access if partner exchanges face state geofencing or regulatory freezes.
Plus500's international license does not carry that federal designation, so any state enforcement wave would hit its U.S. product harder than CFTC-venue rivals. The platform must build or buy that regulatory access to keep pace. Meanwhile, Kalshi's court losses in Ohio and Tennessee have already broken federal preemption in key states. Any platform without a state-by-state legal strategy risks sudden market closures.
Joins a growing set of platforms adding macroeconomic and sports event contracts alongside Kalshi, Robinhood and DraftKings as the sector races to diversify beyond pure political markets before Supreme Court or state regulatory clarity arrives.