Not only can you cast your vote for mayor and city council this fall, but you can bet a few bucks on the election outcome as well.

Prediction markets like PolyMarket and Kalshi are controversial and have been at the centre of numerous corruption and insider trading cases. Now, they’re taking bets on municipal elections in B.C.

Prediction markets sound a lot like regular gambling sites but the financial mechanics are different.

“Prediction markets work by letting people buy and sell contracts tied to the outcome of a future event. The price of each contract reflects the market’s estimate of how likely that outcome is, and correct contracts pay out when the event is resolved,” according to WealthSimple.

Different jurisdictions have different stances on whether or not prediction markets are gambling, but BC’s Independent Gambling Control Office recently made the statement that prediction markets count as gambling and are against provincial legislation since PlayNow.com is the only legal betting site in B.C.

Prediction markets allow people to bet on all kinds of things like sports, politics and criminal trial outcomes. They are often used as political polls but the framing is different since prediction markets ask “who do you think will win?” and polls ask “who are you going to vote for?”

Here are the numbers:

11,800: US dollars. That’s how much has been bet on the mayoral election in Revelstoke on Polymarket.
15,000: US dollars. That’s how much has been bet on the mayoral election in Kamloops on Polymarket.
12,806: US dollars. That’s how much has been bet on the mayoral election in Kelowna on Polymarket.
4,700: US dollars. That’s how much has been bet on the mayoral election in Vernon on Polymarket.
4,685: US dollars have been bet on Ron Cannan to win the Kelowna mayoral election.
72: Per cent. Those are the odds that Mike O’Reilly will win the Kamloops mayoral election, according to bettors on Polymarket.
190,000: US dollars have been bet on the outcome of the Vancouver mayoral election on Polymarket.
0: That’s how much betting we found for the Penticton election.
4: That’s how many provinces have restricted Polymarket, including B.C. But, that hasn’t stopped the site from taking bets on our elections.
2: Major prediction markets have Donald Trump Jr. as an advisor, Kalshi and Polymarket. Nothing sketchy going on there.