Key Points
- University researchers warned partnerships between prediction markets and news outlets could erode public trust by blurring lines between journalism and gambling promotion.
- Deals with outlets like AP, CNBC, CNN and Dow Jones allow prediction odds on elections and geopolitics to appear alongside news coverage.
- Researchers urged news organizations to revise ethics policies and avoid financial ties with gambling and betting platforms.
A growing trend of partnerships between prediction marketplaces and news organizations has the potential to further undermine public trust in journalism, at a time when most Americans already distrust much of what they read and watch on television, according to a warning issued by university researchers this week.
In a statement shared with The Desk on Tuesday, the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation said the rapid integration of betting companies and prediction markets into news and sports media ecosystems risks blurring the line between reporting and promotion of gambling activities.
The group pointed to recent agreements between major U.S. media outlets and prediction market operators that allow odds on elections, policy outcomes and geopolitical developments to appear alongside news coverage. According to the center, such arrangements could put journalists in the position of influencing or reacting to market activity tied to the events they are reporting on.
“News coverage could be skewed to drive market volatility and the markets themselves gamed by those looking to influence the events being reported on,” said Steven L Herman, Executive Director of the Jordan Center and an Associate Professor of Practice in the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi.
Herman continued: “Prediction markets and their customers, including suspected insider traders, profited on bets in recent days linked to the timing of U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran. Moral questions aside, journalists should question their direct associations with promoters of these casino-style activities.”
Over the past few months, several prominent news organizations have entered into data-sharing arrangements with prediction platforms, including the Associated Press, CNBC, CNN and Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones.
Beyond prediction markets, the report spotlights the growing financial ties between sports broadcasters and sports betting platforms. Networks like ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports and Warner Bros Discovery’s TNT Sports have entered multi-billion dollar partnerships with betting operators.
“This creates the perception of a conflict of interest. When a network benefits financially from the volume of bets placed on its platforms, the independence of its journalists—and the information reported about the games and events they cover—is potentially compromised,” said Bill Cassidy, Professor and Chair of the Department of Journalism at the University of Mississippi.
The Jordan Center said concerns about gambling’s influence on sports coverage have intensified amid federal investigations and criminal charges related to sports wagering involving professional and collegiate athletes.
In response, the center is urging news organizations to update their ethics codes to explicitly reject financial relationships with gambling entities, including sponsorships, advertising for wagering platforms and paid promotions for betting applications.
The caution from the Jordan Center comes as the University of Mississippi prepares a mid-April conference focused on the topic of restoring the public’s trust in journalism. A number of well-known journalists are scheduled to speak at the conference, including CNN’s Brian Stelter, Trust in Media Cooperative founder and CEO Ellen McCarthy and Rufus Friday, the Executive Director of the Center for Integrity and News Reporting.
To learn more about the event, click or tap here.
