Matchbook, a sports betting exchange, is launching a prediction market platform in the UK as it prepares to compete with rivals Kalshi and Polymarket in the US.
The British debut in January will be a “road test” of its technology before Matchbook — registered in Guernsey — obtains US regulatory approval, which it expects as early as March, interim chief executive officer Ronan McDonagh said in an interview.
Matchbook is majority-owned by Zeljko Ranogajec, a professional gambler originally from Australia, after Matthew Benham, the owner of Brentford FC, pared his stake to a small interest. The launch in the UK, a country with a long tradition of legal sports betting, will test how widely American enthusiasm for prediction markets has spread overseas.
Betting exchanges, like Matchbook, function by matching buyers and sellers, unlike traditional sportsbooks which take the opposite side of a customer’s bet. The key difference for a British audience is largely in the presentation. While Matchbook is already a betting exchange, its new offering changes the display of contracts from the fractional odds typical in the UK to a percentage probability for ‘yes’ or ‘no’ outcomes.
Platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have played a major role in elevating the profile of prediction markets, particularly since the 2024 US election. These entities function as federally regulated financial exchanges, offering event contracts that cover politics, sports, and pop culture. This regulatory status enables them to offer what are fundamentally sports wagers nationwide, thereby bypassing state-specific gambling restrictions.
Matchbook will launch the product under its existing exchange license with the UK Gambling Commission, with a focus on sports, McDonagh added. It will also introduce a prediction market as a white-label provider for easyBet, which is part of easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s group.
“It’s not new in the sense that it works on the same engine as an exchange,” McDonagh said from Cork, Ireland. “It should be more understandable, so I think we’re hopeful that it captures a new audience or it intrigues people to have a look.”
Matchbook, whose legal entity is Triplebet Ltd., has been operating a sports exchange for about 20 years. The company’s US partner RSBIX LLC in September filed with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to launch an exchange. Led by Jeff Ifrah, who is in business with one of President Donald Trump’s former defense attorneys, RSBIX had tried — and failed — five years ago to seek the agency’s approval for NFL contracts with a different partner.
While the UK has no shortage of betting platforms, Kalshi and Polymarket remain unavailable in the country. Unlike the US, new entry would likely come under the purview of gambling regulators.
Robinhood has previously said it’s exploring bringing prediction markets overseas and has spoken to the UK Financial Conduct Authority about that.
With less brand recognition in the US, Matchbook is open to partnering with another company for distribution, said McDonagh.
“We’re not sentimental about going in as Matchbook,” he said. “We’ve been in the exchange business so long and we’ve got a really strong tech platform. We’ve got strong market making partners, liquidity and a great product. We’ll be able to complete on day one in the US.”
