ASIC has received no prediction market applications, chair Sarah Court tells Senate estimates
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has not received a single application from a prediction market operator, chair Sarah Court told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on October 29. She said any application would face strict scrutiny and compared the products with binary options, which Australia has banned for retail clients. Polymarket has been on the ACMA's blocked gambling website list since August 2025.
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Overview
- ASIC chair Sarah Court told the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on October 29, 2026 that the regulator has received no applications from prediction market operators.
- She said any application to operate in Australia would face strict scrutiny, and compared prediction markets with binary options because of their all-or-nothing outcomes.
- ASIC's Moneysmart warning states that no prediction market is licensed as a financial market in Australia and that users of offshore platforms cannot access local dispute resolution or client money protections.
- The ACMA added Polymarket to its blocked illegal gambling website list in August 2025 after finding breaches of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
What ASIC told the Senate
ASIC appeared first on the second day of the committee's 2026–27 Supplementary Budget Estimates hearings at Parliament House, according to the committee's published program. Bloomberg reported that Court told senators no prediction market operator, including platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, had applied for permission to operate in Australia. She said prediction markets often turn on events unrelated to investing or financial markets, and that any application would be tested strictly against the law.
Court also said Australians can still reach offshore platforms directly but are not covered by local financial regulation if something goes wrong.
Two regulators, one product
ASIC's consumer warning, last updated on August 3, 2026, says event contracts "share similar characteristics with binary options," citing an ASIC review that found about 75% of retail clients lost money trading binary options. It tells consumers to check the ACMA's list of blocked gambling websites.
The ACMA, which enforces the Interactive Gambling Act, requested internet providers block Polymarket on August 13, 2025 and issued a formal warning to its operator, Adventure One QSS, Inc. In the United States, prediction markets operate under federal CFTC oversight while states contest sports contracts in court and through settlements: Polymarket US to halt sports contracts in Michigan. See also Utah and Ohio take the prediction-market fight to market makers and suppliers.
Senators have until November 5 to lodge written questions on notice, with answers due December 17, 2026.
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Patricia Cruz aims to bring a different perspective to familiar industry conversations. Through in-depth articles and thematic reports at AskSpinner News, Patricia draws attention to details worth questioning and connections that can be overlooked, using the news as a starting point for a closer look at the business of iGaming.
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