What is PredictIt and how does it work?

PredictIt is a platform where you can speculate on political events using a market structure that works much like stock trading. Instead of buying shares in a company, you’re buying contracts based on whether a political outcome happens or not.

To start, you take a Yes or No position on a future event. Each contract trades between $0 and $1, and the price gives you a quick read on how likely the market thinks that outcome is. Those prices fluctuate constantly as traders react to news, polling, rumors, and momentum. Once you buy a contract, you have a couple of ways to play it. 

You can hold it through settlement, which means you keep the position until the event is decided. If your prediction is right, the contract settles at $1. Your profit is the difference between $1 and the price you paid. If the outcome doesn’t occur, the contract is set to $0, and you lose the amount you paid.

You can also sell the contract before settlement. That is a big part of how many traders use PredictIt. If you bought a contract at 40 cents and the price moves up to 55 cents, you can sell it and lock in a 15-cent gain per share, before fees. If the price starts to drop after you buy in, you can get out early and take a smaller loss rather than waiting for the market to settle.

The other big thing to understand is that PredictIt is a peer-to-peer market. Traders set prices by buying and selling from one another. The platform is hosting the market, but it isn’t hand-posting every number like a sportsbook would. Your trade only happens when someone else is willing to take the other side. If you want to buy Yes, another trader has to sell at a price you can match.

This is why liquidity is such a big deal in prediction markets. When a market is active, and a lot of people are trading, it’s usually easier to make a trade close to the price you’re looking at on the screen. Prices also tend to move with less sudden jumping around.

Pros

• Lets you see bids and asks clearly

• Offers limit orders

• 250+ politics markets

Cons

• Only offers political markets

• High 10% fees on winning trades

• Limited liquidity

PredictIt app review

PredictIt is a browser-based platform that doesn’t offer a native iOS or Android app. The interface is split into two main sections. 

One side is for markets, where you browse and trade contracts. The other side is more content-driven, with political news, platform updates, and a podcast feed covering polls, legislation, and other campaign developments. There’s a comment section too, which gives users a place to post takes and argue out whatever political angle is driving the price.

The market lobby gives you a few ways to sort through everything. You can browse by trade volume or price change to find markets that are moving. You can also check new arrivals for the latest contracts on the platform. If you want markets that are close to wrapping up, the expiring filter helps you find events nearing settlement.

Each market tile includes a liquidity tracker, so you can see how many shares have traded in that market. That’s helpful because it gives you a quick sense of where the action is and where trading may be thinner.

Once you open a market, PredictIt gives you a closer look at how trading has been going. You can see a chart showing how the contract price has moved over time and where recent trading took place. That helps you tell whether the market is making a fresh move, picking up steam, or just moving back and forth without much direction.

Under each market price, you’ll see a multiplier that shows your potential payout relative to your entry price. In simple terms, it tells you how much you stand to win if the contract settles in your favor compared to what you paid to get in.

The order book is visible too, showing the current bids and asks in the market. In other words, you can check the highest price buyers are willing to pay, the lowest price sellers are willing to accept, and how many shares are available at each level. This helps you judge whether you can get filled at your price or whether your order may move the price.

Different prediction markets available at PredictIt 

PredictIt is focused entirely on politics, so every market on the platform ties back to elections, polling, party control, legislation, or other government-related developments.

The platform breaks its politics coverage into five main categories:

• World: This section covers political events outside the United States, including foreign elections, leadership questions, and other major government developments abroad. 
• State/Local: This category focuses on governor races, ballot measures, redistricting questions, and other state-level outcomes. 
• Congress: This section centers on Senate and House races, party control, nominee battles, and other markets tied to congressional power. 
• President: This category covers presidential elections, party nominees, White House-related questions, and other markets tied to the top of the ticket. 
• Elections: This works as a broader hub for major races and election-related contracts across the platform.

PredictIt also offers multiple contract structures. Some markets are simple yes-or-no questions. Others let you trade on named candidates, parties, or specific political outcomes, providing more ways to express a view than a basic binary market.

How to trade on PredictIt 

After you register, the first step is choosing the political category you want to trade in. From there, you pick the specific market or outcome you want to trade on. Once you open a market, you’ll usually see two options on the trade slip: Yes and No. 

You also choose how many contracts you want to buy at the listed price. For example, if a contract is trading at 28 cents and you want to buy 10 contracts, your total cost is $2.80. Next to the price, PredictIt also shows a multiplier. That number shows your potential return compared with the amount you paid to enter the position.

After you buy your contracts, you have two choices. You can hold them until settlement and wait for the market to resolve, or you can sell before settlement if you want to lock in a profit or cut a loss. You don’t have to sell the entire position at once, either. You can sell all of your contracts, or just part of them, and leave the rest open if you want to stay in the market a little longer.

KYC verification

KYC verification is required because PredictIt must confirm your identity before allowing you to trade on the platform. That process helps the site meet US compliance standards for customer identification, fraud prevention, and anti-money laundering checks.

ID checks at PredictIt are painless. If the personal details on your account match your address records, you may be able to verify with a selfie. If they do not match, PredictIt may ask you to upload a government-issued ID so the platform can review your information manually. Once your account is approved, you can proceed with trading as usual.

Quick Order vs. Limit Order

There are two main ways to buy a contract on PredictIt: Quick Order and Limit Order.

A Quick Order means you’re buying at the current market price. In other words, you’re accepting the best available price in the market right now and entering the position right away.

A Limit Order gives you more control. Instead of taking the current price, you enter the price you’re willing to pay and wait to see if the market reaches it. The order will only go through if another trader is willing to match you at that number.

For example, let’s say a Yes contract on a Republican winning a Senate race is trading at 44 cents, but you only want to buy if the price drops to 40 cents. You can place a limit order at 40 cents and wait. If the market comes down to 40 cents, your order can go through. If it never gets there, nothing happens.

You can use the same idea when selling. If you bought a contract at 35 cents and want to sell only if it rises to 50 cents, you can place a sell limit order at 50 cents. Your contracts would only be sold if the market reaches that price.

PredictIt payment methods

PredictIt accepts deposits through credit cards, debit cards, and PayNearMe. Supported card providers include Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.

The minimum deposit is $10. After a deposit is made, the site applies a 30-day holding period during which funds cannot be withdrawn.

Withdrawals are processed through ACH or a mailed check. ACH transfers usually take 3 to 7 business days, while mailed checks can take up to around 20 days. PredictIt charges a 5% fee on all withdrawals.

PredictIt fees and payouts

PredictIt charges a 10% fee on profitable trades. That fee applies any time you make money on a position, whether you hold the contract through settlement or sell it earlier for a profit.

The minimum trade size is $0.01 per contract. Under the platform’s agreement with the CFTC, the maximum amount you can invest in any single contract position is $3,500.

That cap applies to each contract, not to your full account balance. In other words, PredictIt does not place one overall limit on everything you have in your account.

Is PredictIt safe?

PredictIt operates under a different regulatory structure than most US prediction market platforms. The site was launched as an academic project by Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, and entered the US through a different channel than other prediction markets.

PredictIt was allowed to operate in the United States under special CFTC permission because the platform was created for research purposes. Aristotle serves as PredictIt’s Designated Contract Market, which means there is a regulated exchange and clearing operation behind the platform. From a regulatory standpoint, PredictIt has a formal basis for operating in the US.

PredictIt doesn’t offer responsible trading tools, at least not in the way people might expect from a sportsbook or a retail brokerage app. That’s because the platform is positioned as a research-oriented product instead of a mainstream consumer trading app.

On the security side, PredictIt uses 128-bit SSL encryption to protect user data and requires KYC verification as part of its anti-money-laundering procedures. The platform also places a 30-day hold on deposited funds before they can be withdrawn. That delay can help reduce fraud and make it harder to move money in and out too quickly.

PredictIt comparisons

FAQs

Is PredictIt legal in all 50 states?

PredictIt legal states coverage includes the entire United States. The platform operates in the US under a different framework than most prediction market sites, as it was launched for research purposes and operates under special CFTC permission.

Does PredictIt offer a welcome bonus?

No, PredictIt does not offer a welcome bonus or any promotions for regular traders.

Is sports betting available on PredictIt?

No, PredictIt does not offer sports betting or any markets related to sports outcomes. The platform is focused entirely on politics markets, including elections, polling, party control, legislation, and other government-related outcomes.

What fees does PredictIt charge?

PredictIt charges a 10% fee on profitable trades. That applies whether you hold a winning contract through settlement or sell it earlier for a profit. The platform also charges a 5% fee on withdrawals.