Why are people betting on war?
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Lots of people enjoy a flutter – but have you ever considered betting on a US strike on Iran? Or when Russia will take control of a village in the Donbass? Or what day a head of state might be killed?
It’s a macabre thought for even the most compulsive gambler – but punters are betting millions of dollars on prediction sites like Polymarket and Kalshi, which both have links to Donald Trump Jr.
High stakes bets on specific acts of war have led to allegations of insider trading and potential market manipulation.
Niall discusses Polymarket and the ethics of wartime betting with Sam Doak of Sky News’ Data and Forensics unit.
Do you have a question for the podcast? Email us: why@sky.uk
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sky News, the full story first. |
| 0:09.6 | People are making a mint betting on the Iran war. |
| 0:17.1 | This is why. |
| 0:22.2 | Time to thank our partner for this episode, Elevon. |
| 0:25.4 | When you're diving into the worlds of news or sport, |
| 0:28.2 | it's critical to have experts right by your site. |
| 0:31.8 | And similarly in business, |
| 0:33.5 | whether you're trading online by phone or face-to-face, |
| 0:36.5 | it pays to have a payment provider who gets it. |
| 0:39.7 | Q, Elevon, the full solution payment service provider. |
| 0:43.4 | Elevan puts the power of paying into the hands of your customers and makes taking payments simpler and safer than ever. |
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| 1:01.6 | So say goodbye to payment stress and hello to focusing on what counts with Elevon. Get more info |
| 1:07.8 | atelevent.com.com. |
| 1:10.5 | Add water to your will. And know that from that... Get more info at elevan.com.uk. |
| 1:18.1 | Add water to your will and know that from that single drop, life will grow. |
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| 1:43.3 | Hi everyone, Neil here. |
| 1:47.5 | And look, if your parents were anything like mine, I suspect you grew up with them telling |
| 1:52.4 | you gambling. |
... |
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