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The multi-billion-dollar prediction markets industry is rivaling the pace of AI growth.

Market volumes are estimated to eclipse $1 trillion by 2030 (1), with 71% of prediction market’s current users being men under the age of 45, according to a recent study from analytics firm Morning Consult. In addition, about one in four American men between the ages of 18 and 24 say they have used at least one prediction market or gambling app in the past six months, according to a poll by the American Institute for Boys and Men (2) (AIBM).

A recent Bloomberg (3) analysis found more than 100,000 accounts lost at least $1,000 on Polymarket, one of the largest prediction market platforms. More important still, the Wall Street Journal (4) reported that 67% of profits on Polymarket go to just 0.1% of accounts. Close to half a billion dollars allegedly went to fewer than 2,000 accounts. What all this means is that most accounts you’ll find on prediction markets are money losers.

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Cameron George, a 26-year-old content creator and crypto trader, told the BBC (5) he used an AI bot to make bets for him after hearing on social media that it can be an easy way to make money.

“I haven’t made any money so far. I’m down a couple of grand,” he said.

Moneywise reached out to George but did not receive a response.

Prediction market users trade outcomes tied to future events, including sports, politics, economic indicators and entertainment topics.

The risky nature of the platforms tends to draw a predominantly male audience, reflecting the demographics of adjacent communities such as sports betting, cryptocurrency, meme investing, streamer culture and influencer fandom.

YouTube personality Logan Paul has a partnership with Polymarket and has posted (6) about prediction markets with captions such as “Never heard of this guy but he made me rich.” Elvira Bolat (7), a professor at Bournemouth University, said she is concerned that prediction markets normalize betting and that influencers are downplaying the risks involved.

“Prediction markets are increasingly being framed not simply as gambling, but as a form of intelligence, strategy, forecasting, or participation in internet culture itself,” she told the BBC.

Jonathan Cohen (8), head of sports betting policy at AIBM, described what young men are experiencing as “economic nihilism” — a mindset in which someone with $20,000 may feel they can get rich quickly through speculative markets rather than waiting decades for returns through vehicles such as the S&P 500, he told the BBC.

Read More: Here’s the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you falling behind?

Ben Fielding (9), CEO of AI infrastructure provider Gensyn, told Moneywise that prediction markets give men a place to express their views, with recognition in the form of financial value when they are correct.

“Prediction markets often encourage trading on specific major events in order to drive maximum liquidity for fees,” Fielding told Moneywise. “This one event can then be spread on social media, encouraging more men to make the same trades without necessarily being better-informed — i.e. much closer to gambling than information trading.”

“Information markets, on the other hand, encourage trading on anything by allowing anyone — including those same men — to create their own markets, encouraging them to trade only the things they genuinely care about or have real information about, rather than just buying into the same trades as the influencers they follow in the hopes of getting rich,” he added.

According to Fielding, over time “this open trade of information leads to something a bit like Wikipedia — a huge encyclopedia of live information that is updated by the people with the real information and they make money by doing it.”

Right now, prediction markets are not classified as gambling in the US. If you live in any one of the 50 states, you can place bets. They are regulated as commodity futures trading and platforms earn revenue by charging a small fee on each transaction. But some states are pushing back: Minnesota became the first state to ban prediction markets, according to The New York Times (10).

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While prediction markets have gained a devoted following for their ability to crowdsource forecasts on everything from elections to economic data, they come with a major caveat: Most participants don't make money.

Roughly 69% of accounts on Polymarket have lost money since 2022. The story isn't much different on Kalshi, where more than 70% of traders have been unprofitable over the past six months (11).

Prediction markets can be just as unforgiving as any other speculative asset. Market sentiment and unexpected events can quickly turn a seemingly obvious wager into a losing bet. For those looking to build wealth rather than chase outcomes, focusing on relatively low-risk assets might be a better choice.

If your goal is to grow and protect your nest egg, precious metals like gold might be a good option.

Gold has maintained its reputation as a safe-haven asset for generations. When inflation rises, geopolitical tensions flare, or stock markets wobble, investors often flock to the precious metal as a store of value. Because it tends to move independently of stocks and bonds, gold can help smooth out portfolio volatility during turbulent periods.

One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.

You can hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a tax-deferred retirement account through a gold IRA. And if you opt for Priority Gold’s platinum package, you can get free account setup and insured shipping and storage for up to five years. Plus, you can also roll over your existing IRA or 401(k) into a precious metals IRA with Priority Gold — tax and penalty free.

And when you make a qualifying purchase with Priority Gold, you can receive up to $10,000 in precious metals for free. Just keep in mind that gold is often best used as one part of a well-diversified portfolio.

Real estate is another classic wealth-building asset. Property values have historically appreciated over time and real estate can generate passive income through rents while providing diversification away from public markets.

The best part? Gaining exposure no longer requires buying an entire property yourself.

Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allow you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties across the country with as little as $100.

To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for their potential appreciation and income generation.

Arrived distributes any rental income generated by properties to investors monthly, allowing you to potentially set up a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.

The best part? For a limited time, when you open an account and add $1,000 or more, Arrived will credit your account with a 1% match.

Those with more capital on hand can expand their real estate portfolio beyond short-term vacation rentals. Accredited investors can now tap into this opportunity through platforms such as Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to single-asset multifamily and industrial deals.

Lightstone DIRECT’s direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.

With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.

For those willing to think outside the box, fine art has emerged as a surprisingly resilient alternative. The ultra-wealthy have long carved out a slice of their portfolios in an asset class that has low correlation with traditional assets like equities, crypto and gold. Post-war and contemporary art has outperformed the S&P 500 by 15% from 1995 to 2025 while showing near-zero correlation to traditional equities.

Until recently, this world was off-limits for most investors. Now, with Masterworks, you can buy fractional shares in multimillion-dollar works by icons like Banksy, Picasso and Basquiat. While art can be illiquid and typically requires a long-term hold, it offers unique portfolio diversification.

Masterworks has sold 27 artworks so far, yielding net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6% and 17.8%.*

Moneywise readers can get priority access to diversify with art: Skip the waitlist here.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd

- With files from Amanda Smith.

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.

CNBC (1); American Institute of Business Management (2), (8); Bloomberg (3); The Wall Street Journal (4); BBC (5); Instagram (6); Bournemouth University (7); LinkedIn (9); The New York Times (10); CNBC (11)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.