Episode Details

This week much of Ireland is glued to the racing. But while punters here are betting on horses, across the Atlantic people are wagering on something far darker. Welcome to the strange world of prediction markets - online platforms where users gamble on real-world events like elections, wars, and even assassinations.

Critics warn these markets could create perverse incentives, where insiders with privileged information about wars, diplomacy or political decisions might quietly profit before the rest of the world knows what’s coming. As billions of dollars flow through platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, their influence is becoming harder to ignore.

On today’s Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty speaks to Declan Lynch, columnist with the Sunday Independent and author of Tony 10, and Marshall Cohen, senior reporter with CNN.

Tony 10: The Astonishing Story of the Postman who Gambled €10,000,000 … and lost it all, written by Declan Lynch and Tony O’Reilly, is published by Gill Books.

Follow Marshall’s reporting on X @MarshallCohen