Gibraltar Issues Landmark License to Predict Street as First Regulated Prediction Market Operator

Gibraltar issues its first prediction market license to Predict Street Ltd, a blockchain-powered operator and 2026 FIFA World Cup partner.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 1, 2026, 2:47 PM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from iGB

A Rapid Regulatory Response to Market Shifting

Gibraltar has officially entered the prediction markets vertical by issuing its first regulatory license to Predict Street Ltd. Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, Nigel Feetham, informed parliament on Tuesday that the license was granted under the 2005 Gambling Act in "record timing." This move is seen as a direct effort to adapt the territory’s significant gaming sector following recent gambling duty increases in the United Kingdom. With remote gaming and betting duties threatening to hit Gibraltar-based operators with tax rates as high as 100%, the government is aggressively promoting new regulatory offerings to safeguard its public revenue, which relies on the gambling sector for approximately one-third of its total tax intake.

Predict Street and the 2026 FIFA World Cup

The newly licensed operator, Predict Street Ltd, was registered as a betting intermediary on March 26. The company’s digital platform, Predictstreet.io, has already made bold claims regarding its market position, asserting that it is the official prediction market partner for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. Powered by the Abu Dhabi based blockchain provider ADI Chain, the operator is currently running a countdown to a formal launch scheduled for April 9. This high-profile partnership underscores the growing intersection between traditional sporting events and decentralized, blockchain-driven forecasting platforms.

Gibraltar as a European Pioneer

With this licensing move, Gibraltar has become the first jurisdiction in Europe to directly regulate a prediction markets operator. While other major markets like Germany, the Netherlands, and France have historically maintained strict rules against novelty markets—often treating prediction platforms as illegal gambling or unlicensed financial instruments—Gibraltar is pivoting toward a more permissive and structured framework. This early adoption places the peninsula ahead of Malta, which only recently announced that it is "actively exploring" a legislative framework to enable the vertical to develop responsibly at scale.