Hollywood Studios Ban Employees From Prediction Market Betting: Report

Hollywood studios and production companies have begun barring employees from trading on prediction markets using nonpublic knowledge about casting decisions, release dates, and box-office or earnings outcomes, The Hollywood Reporter reported Thursday, with at least one firm establishing a hotline for staff to report colleagues. The restrictions target platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, where entertainment and media contracts have become a growing niche alongside sports and politics. The move matters because it signals that corporate insiders see an edge in event contracts tied to their own industry, raising questions about information asymmetry as prediction markets expand into new asset classes. What to watch next is whether other studios adopt formal policies, whether exchanges tighten disclosure or eligibility rules for entertainment markets, and whether trading volumes in film and TV contracts hold up once insider participation is curtailed.