PredictIt

PredictIt Review

If you are looking for a legal prediction market trading platform where you can only trade contracts on politics, PredictIt could be the right place for you. Being available in all states, it has been around for over a decade now. Read our PredictIt review to get more details about the company.

What Is PredictIt?

PredictIt is a prediction market platform that only features politics markets. The company was founded in 2014 by the Victoria University of Wellington and Aristotle, Inc., and it is a research project by the Prediction Market Research Consortium.

Because of these affiliations, the company makes its research data available to academic institutions and the public.

PredictIt is a non-profit organisation that charges fees on user transactions to maintain the platform. Available prediction markets focus on US politics at the state and federal levels, as well as on world politics.

Is PredictIt Legit and Secure?

PredictIt offers its services in all 50 US states, where people can legally trade contracts on various political markets. As a non-profit organisation, the company operates under a no-action letter from the Division of Market Oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The said letter provides security for users, who know that their money is safe with a legitimate trading company. It is true that the original 2014 letter was revoked in 2022, forcing the company to close the trade in 2023, but the platform relaunched in 2025.

The letter was revoked because a non-political market appeared on the PredictIt prediction market, which clashed with the conditions the CFTC set for the company. However, since the letter is back in place, the answer to the ‘Is PredictIt legit?’ question is yes.

How to Sign Up and Get Started

You must be a US citizen to create an account with PredictIt, as you need to provide the last four digits of your Social Security number, along with other personal information. The process is pretty straightforward, guiding you through the necessary steps with ease.

Once you register your account, you are all set to make a deposit and start trading. Given the nature of PredictIt operations, the company doesn’t offer any bonuses or promotions to new or existing customers. Here’s a bit on how to use PredictIt.

The markets work on the binary contract mechanics, allowing you to select a market and then pick a Yes or No outcome based on your prediction. The prices of the Yes and No options on a particular contract add up to around $1.

PredictIt trading works as most other prediction markets do: once you purchase a Yes or No contract on a chosen market, you can sell your contracts if there is demand, or you can wait for the outcome of the event for an eventual payout.

Available Markets and Event Types

All PredictIt trading options are related to politics, as we have already mentioned, so if you are looking for something else, you will need to look elsewhere. Contracts focus on policy changes, political news, congressional updates, elections, etc.

Most of these markets are multi-contract markets, so make sure to check the rules specific to them on the PredictIt website.

Upon relaunch, PredictIt raised the bar on investment in individual contracts, so instead of $850, users can now invest up to $3,500 per contract. Also, the limit of 5,000 traders per contract was replaced to unlimited number of traders, for better market liquidity.

Due to the nature of the events you can trade contracts on, there are no live markets you can trade on, so there is not much mention of PredictIt betting connections.

Fees and Payouts: What Does It Cost?

We have already mentioned that, as a not-for-profit company, PredictIt charges users a few fees. There are no fees on deposits, so they start after you purchase your contracts and win some money. First, let’s look into the payout mechanics.

When you purchase your contracts, you pay a certain amount for each of them. If you get your prediction right, you get a $1 payout for each winning contract that you own. Your profit will then be the difference between the payout and the amount you paid for those contracts.

That’s where the PredictIt fees kick in. The company will charge you a 10% fee on the profit you make (only if you make one when the market is settled). If you wish to withdraw your winnings, PredictIt will also charge a 5% withdrawal processing fee.

If you stop using your account but fail to deactivate it, the company will start charging you a $2 monthly inactivity fee after 12 months.

User Experience: Platform, App, and Interface

The PredictIt website is easy to navigate, partly because the lack of market variations, with politics being the only topic, makes filtering much easier. The website translates well onto smaller screens, remaining neat and well-organised.

At the moment of this PredictIt review, there was no iOS or Android app available, but the mobile website is convenient and easy to use. Helpful resources are usually only a click away, so you should be able to find everything you need without too much trouble.

The website undergoes maintenance every day from 4 to 5 AM Eastern time, which can prove inconvenient to some people.

Customer Support

The support section on the website provides a lot of useful information, including video tutorials on how to open an account, navigate the website and then buy and sell your contracts. 

If you need help from the support team, you can reach out via email or through one of the social media channels. PredictIt doesn’t offer live chat support.

Deposits, Withdrawals, and Payment Methods

PredictIt accepts Mastercard, Visa and Discover bank cards for making deposits. The minimum deposit is $10, and Aristotle Inc. is the “Clearing House” that takes care of all payments.

If you are new to PredictIt and you have funds to withdraw, you can’t make a withdrawal request until 30 days have passed since your first deposit. The same goes for every next withdrawal, according to the company’s terms and conditions.

Final Thoughts: Who Should Use PredictIt?

If you only make predictions on politics and wish to avoid the clutter of markets focused on other topics, then PredictIt could be the right place for you. If you also appreciate the fact that PredictIt is a research, not-for-profit project, then the company gets extra points there.

Of course, the platform is not without its cons, such as limited deposit methods, a sole focus on politics, and high fees, so it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.