Lets face it. The political world doesnt give the first fig about the prediction markets, InTrade, BetFair, Betdaq, NewsFutures, HubDub, Robin Hanson, Justin Wolfers, and the rest of our little clique.

No GravatarSome of our luminaries have had their vapors and have boldly stated that the public [*] prediction markets would soon take over the free world and become the forecasting tool of choice for decision makers. Since our movement has started, in 2003, that has not happened &#8212-and will never happen (let alone in the year 2020). We were duped by those cocky misleaders. In the coming weeks, I&#8217-m going to try to launch a big intra-industry initiative to find the right usage for the public prediction markets. Stay tuned&#8230- and I hope I&#8217-ll get you on board with me.

[*] as opposed to the enterprise prediction markets, which is not the topic of my bombastic rant above, which is a horse of another color, and which would deserve a completely different analysis.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Here&#8217-s what the political world really cares about&#8230-

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Gallup 3

Previous blog posts by Chris F. Masse:

  • Last year’s best April Fool’s Day Joke had something to do with the Wisdom Of Crowds.
  • Will HedgeStreet USA, the hypothetical InTrade USA, and the hypothetical TradeFair USA, be regulated in the future by a merged SEC+CFTC regulatory structure?
  • WORST THAN ELIOT SPITZER (if it were possible): Formula One boss, Max Mosley, had sado-masochist sex with 5 prostitutes, for 5 hours (!!), reenacting a concentration camp scene (!!) in which he played the role of both Nazi guard and inmate.
  • Is BetFair Poker a booby trap for the gullible novices? Does The Sporting Exchange (the operator of the BetFair brands) help gangs plucking down innocent recreational poker players?? To get an inkling, don’t read The Guardian, seeded by the BetFair spin doctor- read Midas Oracle.
  • The video that the technologically retarded BetFair spin doctor should watch.

2 thoughts on “Lets face it. The political world doesnt give the first fig about the prediction markets, InTrade, BetFair, Betdaq, NewsFutures, HubDub, Robin Hanson, Justin Wolfers, and the rest of our little clique.

  1. Chewxy said:

    Yep. You got that right. The general public doesn’t really care either. Now, a curious thing is why Al Gore ranks higher than Ron Paul in InTrade… do people think he is really going to run?

  2. Chris F. Masse said:

    Chewxy,

    1. I’m sure that you read the political news media and you’ve seen that Al Gore’s name is floated  in many hypothetical scenarios. (I remember this past week a headline that said something like "Bring in Al Gore" or something like that.)

    2. A good question to ask is whether it would be profitable to short-sell the Al Gore event derivative, taking into account the trading fees, and relatively to the other profit opportunities at InTrade (or BetFair, or else). Traders will only take him down if there are net profits to make in doing so.

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