Comment Text:
I write in support of unrestricted and unregulated access to prediction market sites such as predictit.com. Especially in today’s climate of computer-generated comments and content manipulation abilities, the very fact that there is real money required to participate in these sites actually adds to their security, validity, credibility, and information-conveyance capabilities. Like any market, being able to observe the valuation process, trends, and resulting prices provides an extremely valuable service to all, both direct participants and indirect participants. We need more of these types of mechanisms and forums, not less. The requirement for a participant to risk a loss based on a bad decision or information will cause that person to act with greater judgment. It reduces moral hazard. Specifically regarding markets based around election outcomes, there is no risk of increased participation in these markets manipulating the elections. If anything, the existence of these markets might encourage more participation in the elections and voting processes, a beneficial side-effect. To shut down or hobble these markets would be a massive disservice to all voters and decision makers.
