WagerWire says Gibraltar framework potential ‘blueprint’ for prediction markets worldwide

Prediction Market company WagerWire has launched its headquarters in Gibraltar with plans to “operate in less traditional ways” under the new regulatory framework that could become “a blueprint for the rest of the world”.

WagerWire Co-founders Travis Geiger, Zackery Doctor, and Guy Dotan cut the ribbon at Gibraltar’s World Trade Centre alongside the Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, Nigel Feetham and his team.

The company known for its legacy of US sports betting is looking at different markets such as betting on music charts, what the weather will be like tomorrow and even whether aliens exist.

This is possible through the new regulatory framework in Gibraltar which has recognised that prediction markets are different from gaming and financial markets.

Mr Geiger told the Chronicle that WagerWire can open into these markets because the framework that Gibraltar has created allows the company to “operate in less traditional ways”.

In the US, he said, there has been space for financial markets and sports markets, whereas Gibraltar considers prediction markets a new category and has legislated accordingly.

This new framework means WagerWire can focus on “pop culture markets”.

“We find those markets interesting,” he said.

“Those are actually great marketing opportunities for us. We're not just another way to sports bet. We're a different way to bet altogether.”

At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Mr Geiger said the company had set up in Gibraltar with “a big idea” to help build the next generation of prediction markets.

Gibraltar is now WagerWire’s global headquarters with four employees and an aim to double this soon.

“We share a belief that innovation and regulation should move forward together and for WireMarkets that means building a business that is compliant, that protects and values its customers, and that can earn the trust that's required to operate around the world and that's exactly what we intend to do from right here,” Mr Geiger said.

“Gibraltar will be our international home for WireMarkets, our base for bringing prediction markets to the rest of the world beginning with the UK and Mexico through recent partnerships and expanding from there.”

Mr Feetham said that when he first met these “three young dynamic individuals” he said to himself, “they are the kind of people that we want to attract to Gibraltar”.

“At no point did they disappoint me… [and] they went through a very rigorous licence application process.”

Mr Feetham said WagerWire was the second company to receive this new licence in Gibraltar and he is “hugely proud” to have them join the “Gibraltar family”.

Mr Geiger told this newspaper that prediction markets had drawn in a different type of customer.

“There's also something that feels more fair about betting peer-to-peer than the house always winning,” he said.

He acknowledged that in the US that is a “misconception” that businesses in this sector are “trying to get around the law” as there is no bespoke regulation for these markets in the US.

“It's partially financial, it's partially gambling, but really it's its own type of thing, and we should be treated as such,” Mr Geiger said.

“That’s why this regimen that's been created here in Gibraltar, I think, is going to be a blueprint for the rest of the world."

"And I think when the Supreme Court decisions come down, probably next year in the United States, they're going to come on the same side that Gibraltar has landed on.”

He added that WagerWire chose Gibraltar as it is a reputable jurisdiction, pointing to other jurisdictions like Malta which has “burned” its reputation.

“In the same time that Malta has granted 500 licences, Gibraltar has only granted 50," he said.

"That's what makes it the gold standard, and that's what makes this licence respectable.”

“If we were to go into Mexico City to meet with the regulators, or go to Manila, the Philippines, and say, we have a Malta licence, it doesn't really mean much."

"We have a Gibraltar licence, they sit down, they listen, because they know Gibraltar is new in the category.”

Mr Geiger acknowledged concerns in this industry highlighting the “biggest problem” in the US with prediction markets has been insider trading.

He said WagerWire takes its integrity “very seriously”, delivers only to markets that have a “verifiable outcome”, and monitors for insider trading.

“If you're an athlete that's playing in the game, you can't bet on them,” Mr Geiger said.

“We have a master list. We have a prohibited trading list.”

“If you're working at a financial institution and you have insider information, you're not allowed to trade. And from country to country, we're going to cross-reference those lists, so somebody can't be on vacation in Peru and all of a sudden place a bet that they couldn't place in the UK, for example.”