IG Group seeks UK gambling licence to run prediction markets

IG Group wants to offer prediction markets in the UK, and it has applied to the Gambling Commission for a betting licence to do it. The FTSE 100 trading company set out the plan at its Capital Markets Event on 22 October 2026. Financial prediction markets will launch in Q4 2026 for UK professional clients, IG said in its stock exchange announcement. Its consumer division "has also applied for a UK gambling licence and expects to broaden its markets to include politics, entertainment and sports in early 2027."

The application is not yet decided. On the Gambling Commission's public register, IG View Limited (account 102436, London) shows one activity: "General Betting Standard - Real Event Remote - Application or variation in progress", with the status Pending and no start date. Until that changes, IG has no UK licence to take bets on sports or politics.

Why the launch comes in two steps

A prediction market lets customers buy and sell contracts on whether an event happens, with prices moving as opinion shifts. In Britain, the product falls under two regulators depending on the event. As Finance Magnates explains, the Financial Conduct Authority treats contracts on financial outcomes as binary options, which it has banned for retail investors since 2019. That is why the first launch is limited to professional clients. Contracts on sports, politics or entertainment are betting, which needs a Gambling Commission licence. Finance Magnates also notes that the Commission said in February that prediction markets would appear to fall under betting intermediary licences, the category held by exchanges such as Betfair, Smarkets and Matchbook. IG has applied for a general betting licence instead, the type that, according to Finance Magnates, Spreadex and Sporting Index hold.

According to SBC News, IG filed the application about a week before the event and plans a UK advertising campaign, including on Sky Sports, next month.

Part of a wider bet on "entertainment"

"Trading, investing and entertainment are converging, and IG is well placed to capitalise on the opportunity," chief executive Breon Corcoran said in the announcement. IG says its single platform for trading, investing and crypto is now live in the UK. In July, Finance Magnates reports, it agreed to buy Underdog, a US fantasy sports and prediction markets operator; IG says that deal is on track to complete in late 2026 or early 2027.

What it means for UK players

According to SBC News, Kalshi and Polymarket argue that their prediction markets are financial trading platforms, not gambling; Finance Magnates notes that neither appears on the Gambling Commission register. IG has applied for a Commission licence instead. If it is granted, its sports and politics markets would come under Commission rules, including the deposit-limit rules that took effect on 30 September.

The plan applies to Great Britain only. Regulators elsewhere are drawing their own lines: Ohio has told its licensees to stop serving unlicensed prediction markets, and in Malta Hacksaw launched a B2B prediction markets tool after the MGA extended its supply licence. In Washington, members of Congress have also questioned prediction markets and sportsbooks about VIP programmes.