IG Group has applied for a UK gambling licence as it prepares to extend its event-market offering to politics, entertainment and sport in early 2027.
The trading and investment platform disclosed the application at a capital markets event on 22 October. It plans to launch financial prediction markets in the fourth quarter of 2026, initially for UK professional clients. IG Group did not say the gambling licence had been granted or specify an opening date for retail customers.
The two phases sit on different sides of the UK's regulatory boundary. The Financial Conduct Authority said in its 2026 perimeter report that event contracts tied to financial outcomes fall within its remit and that the financial contracts it has seen resemble binary options.
Sales of binary options to retail consumers remain prohibited. Contracts on sporting or political outcomes fall under the Gambling Commission's remit, according to the FCA.
In February, the Gambling Commission said existing prediction-market models would likely be treated as betting intermediaries, subject to the details of each service.
A remote betting intermediary licence covers an online exchange that matches bettors without taking liability for their wagers. IG Group has not identified the exact licence category it has requested.
IG Group said the products form part of its UK platform combining trading, investing and crypto. The service is already live for existing financial products and will be rolled out across its Consumer division.
IG Group has reorganised around Consumer, Securities and tastytrade, while reporting that UK active-customer and net-revenue growth had run about twice as fast as the rest of Consumer over the previous 21 months.
The UK push is also developing alongside IG Group's proposed purchase of Underdog, a US daily fantasy sports and prediction markets operator. Announced in July at a potential value of $1.3bn, the acquisition remains subject to completion and is expected to close in late 2026 or early 2027.
IG Group has not presented the UK licence application as dependent on that deal.
On 9 October, Global Gaming Insider reported that Underdog estimated third-quarter handle at $1.075bn, while cautioning that its comparisons span a changing product mix.
IG Group says customers active in more than one product generate around three times the average revenue per user of single-product customers
