Gibraltar took an unprecedented step in the European regulatory landscape by becoming the first territory on the continent to grant a formal license to a prediction market operator. The news was announced to the Gibraltarian Parliament by the Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, Nigel Feetham, who described the segment as a substantial growth area for the peninsula and highlighted that the license was issued in record time, even before the territory’s new Gambling Act came into force.
Read more Argentina: Rivadavia seeks to prohibit online betting advertising in areas near minors
The beneficiary company is Predict Street Ltd, which obtained its authorization as a betting intermediary on March 26 under the Gambling Act 2005, according to Gibraltar’s official gambling license register. The company’s website, Predictstreet.io, presents itself as the official partner of the 2026 FIFA World Cup prediction market and shows a countdown to its official launch on April 9. The platform is powered by ADI Chain, a blockchain technology provider based in Abu Dhabi.
A license issued in record time
One of the most striking aspects of the announcement was the speed with which the authorization was processed. Feetham explained to Parliament that the license had to be issued under the previous legislation given that the new Gambling Act had not yet come into force, which represented an additional procedural challenge. Despite this, the process was completed in what the minister himself described as record time for the issuance of a regulatory license in Gibraltar.
This agility is no coincidence. Gibraltar is going through a moment of pressure on its gambling sector, and the speed in authorizing new operators is part of a deliberate strategy to diversify its regulatory offering and attract emerging segments before other jurisdictions do.
The context: UK fiscal pressure on Gibraltarian gambling
To understand the relevance of this decision, it is necessary to consider the surrounding scenario. The gambling sector in Gibraltar directly employs about 3,500 people and generates approximately one-third of the territory’s tax revenue, according to data cited in recent parliamentary debates in the United Kingdom. It is, therefore, a strategic industry whose stability has direct consequences on the peninsula’s public finances.
The problem is that this sector primarily serves the British market, and the United Kingdom has just implemented an increase in taxes on online gambling and online betting, the first phase of which came into force precisely in recent days. The most pessimistic estimates indicate that this measure could raise the effective tax burden for Gibraltar-based operators to a range of between 80% and 100%, a figure that, if confirmed, would compromise the viability of a large part of the sector.
It was in this context that Feetham assumed, in his own words, a more direct responsibility in promoting Gibraltar’s regulatory offering. The license granted to Predict Street should be read, in part, as a signal to the market.
Read more Sports betting in Bolivia skyrockets for the 2026 World Cup play-off
Gibraltar, first in Europe to license this segment
The geopolitical relevance of the Gibraltarian move is amplified when considering the state of the regulatory debate in the rest of Europe. For the moment, Gibraltar is the only European territory that has granted a direct license to a prediction market operator.
Maltese Economy Minister Silvio Schembri stated that the country was actively exploring the emerging field of prediction markets and recognized that any legislative modification should be backed by a clear and forward-looking framework that allows for its responsible and large-scale development.
In the rest of the continent, the landscape is considerably more restrictive. Germany and the Netherlands have strict rules against novel sports betting markets.
The 2026 World Cup as a catalyst for the segment
Predict Street’s link with the 2026 FIFA World Cup adds an additional dimension to the analysis. The tournament, which will be played in the United States, Canada, and Mexico starting in June, will concentrate a global audience of billions of people and generate a demand for real-time participation hardly comparable to any other sporting event.
If the launch planned for April 9 materializes and the platform manages to operate smoothly during the World Cup, the Predict Street case could become a reference for the sector and a concrete argument in favor of regulation in European markets that currently maintain a restrictive stance. Gibraltar, once again, will have arrived first. read / to choose a block
