IG Group plans UK prediction markets launch, applies for licence

IG Group plans to launch a prediction markets product for UK retail customers as early as the current quarter, and has applied to the UK Gambling Commission for a licence, Focus Gaming News reported. The report rests on remarks at the London-listed group’s Capital Markets Event on 22 October 2026.

Prediction markets let users trade event contracts, which pay out depending on whether a stated event happens.

The details

The product would run under IG Consumer, the group’s retail investing division. Its chief executive, Michael Healy, said the business intends to combine prediction markets, cryptocurrency and traditional trading on a single proprietary platform. The licence application was submitted a week before the event.

IG plans a marketing campaign built around helping customers “trade better”, with television advertising, including on Sky Sports, from next month. It expects to widen the offering to politics, entertainment and sports by early 2027.

The group bought Underdog, a US daily fantasy sports and prediction markets operator, in July in a $1.1bn deal. Underdog offers prediction products in 46 US states, and IG expects to draw on its founder, Jeremy Levine, and his team.

Why it matters

In the US, prediction market operators say they are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than state gambling regulators. IG’s application goes through the gambling route instead. The report says the Gambling Commission has previously said it believes such products fall under gambling regulation in the UK.

The report adds that the business could also come under the Financial Conduct Authority, which has said it intends to hold discussions on how prediction markets should be regulated.

What’s next

IG also said its proposed move of its legal home to Jersey remains on schedule, for completion later this year or in early 2027.