​Prediction markets. Do I have your attention? Like cryptocurrency, NFTs, or any other buzzy-term of the last decade or so, if you’re online at all, you probably haven’t been able to avoid all the talk — both positive and negative — about the newest outlet for weighing one’s opinion about what’s going to happen in a given game. There’s been a Netflix “Instadoc,” and features on news magazine shows, ranging from the serious (“60 Minutes”) to the satirical (“Last Week Tonight”). It wasn’t that long ago that the repeal of PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) in 2018 finally meant that you could eventually make a single-game wager legally in your state, or one nearby. Just a few years later, and not only has a loophole been utilized for states that haven’t legalized sports betting, now you can put money on things as obscure as:Will there be a confirmed alien landing?The Rotten Tomatoes’ score for an upcoming movieThe Release Date for not only Grand Theft Auto VI, but the trailer for GTA6Any number of things involved Drake, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and many more of world’s rich and famousThis is a conversation for sports bettors, though. Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL seasonFor those that have gone through the process of funding accounts at various sportsbooks, only to have noticed the proliferation of prediction markets, you could be contemplating what role this new category will have in your sports betting journey.If that sounds like you, check out my list of pros and cons of prediction markets from a veteran sports bettor.ProsCompeting with your peersWe’re keeping this in the context of those who are looking to be profitable long term in the act of taking their earned money and risking it on results they have no control over, with the hopes of winning more money. If that sounds like “betting” to you, you’re not alone. However, for political purposes, certain factions are paid handsomely to create a definition that drifts away from the risk/reward nature at the root of making a bet; instead, calling it “financial derivatives and forecasting tools.”Whether we’re buying that self-serving argument or not, it is appealing to simplify betting in a way that more closely resembles something like a peer-to-peer wager, made on a barstool at some watering hole before the game starts. If you’re afraid of the big, scary oddsmakers with all the alleged inside sources, and deep-seeded knowledge of all the teams, then trying to pick off one individual’s bad offering, versus the more commonly-available lines offered to millions, makes more sense as a potential opportunity. Setting your own priceIn traditional sports betting, the price is set by the sportsbook via the line (e.g. Saquon Barkley over/under 98.5 rushing yards at -110/-110) and it’s up to the bettor to accept one side or the other. In the prediction market format, users are able to set their lines and odds in order to coax action, effectively “m