Marketplace All-in-One What happens when you can bet on anything?
Mar 26, 2026
Hannah Horvath, a financial planner who studies money and identity, and Timothy Fong, a psychiatry professor who studies gambling behavior, discuss prediction markets and online betting. They talk about how bets are woven into everyday life, who decides outcomes and legal gaps, why people are drawn to wagering, and how betting reshapes values and empathy.
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Prediction Markets Turn Everything Into A Bet
- Prediction markets let people bet online on everything from elections to natural disasters, creating a new, widespread form of wagering.
- Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket skirt gambling rules and operate in legal gray areas, prompting state pushback and charges in places like Arizona.
Wild Markets And Personal Contracts Emerging
- Timothy Fong and Hannah Horvath described bizarre contracts like a market for Jesus' return and doubts about who decides market outcomes.
- Fong worries users will soon create personal contracts about friends or family, shifting private life into tradable bets.
College Student Lost Hundreds Of Thousands On His Phone
- Timothy Fong shared a patient's story: a college student lost about $200,000 within two years gambling on his phone.
- He never entered a casino; his addiction unfolded entirely via apps, draining savings and stealing college experiences.