IG Applies For UK Gambling Licence To Widen Prediction Markets
IG Group has applied for a UK gambling licence, with plans to broaden its prediction markets to politics, entertainment and sports in early 2027.
The trading platform disclosed the application in its Capital Markets Event announcement on October 22, 2026.
Prediction Market Plan
IG said financial prediction markets will launch in the fourth quarter of 2026 for UK professional clients.
IG Consumer, the division that serves retail traders, has also applied for a UK gambling licence and expects to widen its markets to include politics, entertainment and sports in early 2027. The company did not give a decision date for the licence.
The gambling licence is the regulatory instrument that would allow IG to offer contracts beyond financial outcomes.
The FCA has been weighing changes to the UK financial prediction market ban, and IG's move shows where established trading firms see the opportunity.
UK bettors comparing betting sites may see a new type of product alongside traditional fixed-odds bookmakers if the application succeeds.
The Wider Strategy
The announcement came with the results of a strategic review that began in March.
IG has reorganised around three divisions, IG Consumer, IG Securities and tastytrade, and said the proposed redomicile of the group to Jersey is expected to take effect in late 2026 or early 2027, subject to court approval and other conditions.
It also said the proposed acquisition of Underdog, a US fantasy sports and prediction-markets operator, is on track to be completed in late 2026 or early 2027.
IG described a vision of a leading international platform for active investors at the convergence of trading, investing and entertainment.
Chief executive Breon Corcoran said those areas are converging and that IG is well placed to benefit.
UK Customers And The Numbers
IG said that over the past 21 months its UK business has grown active customers and net revenue around twice as fast as the rest of IG Consumer.
Its unified proposition, bringing trading, investing, and crypto onto one platform, is live in the UK and will be rolled out across the division. Multi-product customers generate around three times the average revenue per user of single-product customers, the company said.
Group figures were weaker. Third-quarter total revenue was £240.5 million, down 14% year on year, with net trading revenue of £212.3 million, down 15%.
Guidance for 2026 is unchanged at mid-single-digit revenue growth and an EBITDA margin in the low-40s per cent range, excluding about £30 million of non-recurring redomicile and restructuring costs.
Medium-term guidance of organic revenue growth above 10% a year from a 2025 base of about £1.1 billion is also unchanged.
What To Watch
Any licence would come from the Gambling Commission, and the application stage gives little visibility on timing.
Watch for approval news, the Q4 launch of the professional-client product, and how the Underdog acquisition shapes IG's sports offering.
IG said capital returns through share buybacks are expected to resume in 2027, subject to share price performance and other capital demands.
