John Oliver discusses the UK's upcoming byelection in Makerfield, a constituency whose voters could decide the future of Labour leader Keir Starmer and the direction of British politics amid rising far-right influence.
John Oliver's 'Last Week Tonight' scrutinized prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi, highlighting risks of manipulation, regulatory gaps, and the platforms' controversial event contracts.
John Oliver devoted his latest deep dive on HBO's 'Last Week Tonight' to prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, questioning Donald Trump Jr.'s advisory role with both platforms and criticizing the CFTC for not blocking event contracts on terrorism, assassination and war. Oliver highlighted how easily outcomes can be manipulated, citing Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's deliberate mention of crypto terms during an earnings call to help users win bets. The segment comes as prediction market trading volume has surged, with projections reaching $1 trillion by 2030, while gaming authorities in multiple states sue these platforms and traditional financial firms like Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities signal interest in entering the market.
John Oliver devoted his latest weekly deep dive on HBO's Last Week Tonight to prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, examining trivial event contracts including bets on Trump administration members' word usage. The host highlighted Donald Trump Jr.'s advisory roles with both platforms and criticized the CFTC under Chair Michael Selig for not blocking contracts on terrorism, assassination and war. Oliver cited Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's deliberate mention of crypto words during an earnings call to help users win bets, while predicting markets are expected to reach $1 trillion by 2030 amid ongoing legal battles with state gaming authorities.
