From niche to new vertical: How prediction markets moved into the sportsbook stack

Prediction markets have moved from a side topic to a format operators now have to price, package, and potentially integrate. For PSPs and sportsbook suppliers, the useful part is not the hype cycle; it is that the product is being built as a standalone vertical with fiat flows and API-based integration, which changes how it fits into existing payments and platform infrastructure.

1. Prediction markets got their mainstream push from the US election of late 2024, after which growth accelerated quickly. According to H2 Gambling Capital, prediction markets handle for March Madness reached $16m in 2025, and a year later the figure for the college basketball tournament was projected to rise to an estimated $530m.
2. Yurii Berest, CEO of sportsbook solution supplier DATA.BET, says the growth comes from two things: a wider set of events and a product format that is easier to understand. In his view, betting has historically been concentrated around sports, while prediction markets extend that behavior into politics, technology, economics, entertainment, and other real-world events that users already follow closely.
3. Berest also points to the product mechanics. Users are not just wagering on an outcome; they can follow how the market’s implied probability changes as new information emerges. In practice, that turns the market itself into a form of real-time content, which is a different consumption pattern from a standard sportsbook event page.
4. DATA.BET launched its own prediction markets offering in April, and the company framed the product around “sportsbook logic.” The point was to reduce the structural complexity of exchanges by using clear pricing, fiat transactions, and a more intuitive user experience rather than forcing users into crypto-heavy mechanics.
5. Operationally, DATA.BET treats prediction markets as a separate category even when they sit inside the sportsbook experience. Players can bet on politics, finance, culture, and the weather without navigating complex mechanics or using cryptocurrency, and operators can integrate via the API without requiring new additional integrations.

That last point matters for high-risk operators because the product may look familiar on the front end, but it is being positioned as its own vertical on the back end. For payments teams, that usually means a separate conversation about risk, transaction flow, and how the vertical sits inside the broader sportsbook stack.