Robinhood jumps into election trading, giving users chance to buy Harris or Trump contracts

Upstart brokerage firm Robinhood has entered the prediction betting game by allowing users to trade contracts on the 2024 presidential election, featuring candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Users must meet certain criteria, including being a U.S. citizen, to participate in trading through Robinhood Derivatives and ForecastEx, operated by Interactive Brokers. The move comes as the politics prediction markets field has grown, with recent developments like platform Kalshi winning a legal battle against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Some controversy has arisen over election markets, with concerns about manipulation due to light volume. Despite this, platforms like Robinhood believe that event contracts can provide a tool for real-time decision-making and democratize access to unfolding events. Only presidential election contracts will be available for trading on the system at this time. It’s important to note that odds and gambling platforms do not use the same methodologies as traditional political polling and are not substitutes for such polls.