The ability to bet on sports in a fashion similar to that of trading stocks could soon be offered in the U.S.. According to Bloomberg, Tradesports, a sports-betting exchange, is looking to enter the U.S. sports gambling market, thanks to the proliferation of the activity’s legalization across the country. Beta testing is already underway, and a larger rollout is expected next year, provided the platform can receive approval by state regulators.
Tradesports is being introduced by Ron Bernstein, one of the founders of the now-defunct Intrade political exchange, which shut down six years ago. It is launching a free-to-play beta this week and offers users the ability to buy and sell positions on sports events, similar to what is seen with Betfair in Europe.
The platform made an appearance out of Ireland almost 20 years ago, targeting the U.S. market. However, it fizzled because of the ban on sports wagers before reemerging in 2014 with the rise in popularity of daily fantasy sports. It was able to keep going for about 18 months before shutting down as interest waned.
Now that sports gambling is taking hold in the U.S., the timing may never be better for a sports-centered exchange. Bernstein explains, “As long as we can create an offering that isn’t too intimidating, we think there’s a really big niche in the professional trader market. But you can really broaden the definition of a ‘trader’ to include anyone who uses Charles Schwab or TD Ameritrade. Everyone trades now.”