American Gen Z takes radical path to wealth creation

A recent survey by Betterment reveals that 26% of Gen Z investors in the U.S. incorporate sports betting into their wealth plans, compared to 14% of millennials and 6% of Gen X. Only 1% of baby boomer investors view sports betting as a means of wealth creation. Interestingly, 33% of Gen Z respondents do not engage in sports betting at all, contrasting with 63% of investors across all generations.

The survey, which polled 1,000 U.S. retail investors, attributes the surge in speculative trades like prediction markets, sports betting, and cryptocurrencies to housing unaffordability and rising living costs. Betterment CEO Sarah Levy warns that when these products feel like retirement strategies, they present a problem because they're designed for quick, high-risk gains rather than long-term financial growth.

Platforms like Polymarket have gained traction due to their sports event contracts, built on the Ethereum-based layer-2 blockchain network Polygon. The platform allows traders to predict outcomes like Bitcoin prices, election results, and sports events using cryptocurrencies like Circle's USDC stablecoin. Although Polymarket is registered with the CFTC, several U.S. states have attempted to restrict or block its sports event markets, arguing they're essentially sports betting.

However, Polymarket maintains that the CFTC, not state regulators, is the sole authority over prediction markets under the Commodity Exchange Act.