TikTok has drawn a platform-level distinction between prediction markets and sportsbooks in its advertising policy. The social network allows ads from exchanges that describe user activity as "trading" or "contract trading" but blocks those using "bet" or "betting." Traditional sportsbooks fall under a separate Gambling and Games category with different restrictions.
The wording is not arbitrary. Stephen Piepgrass, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke, told Gambling Insider that the terminology reflects a jurisdictional dispute between prediction exchanges and state regulators. States argue these products are a form of betting, while the CFTC views them as swaps or regulated event contracts. By calling transactions "trades," platforms effectively back the CFTC's position. The choice of word signals which regulator has jurisdiction.
Google and Microsoft have also created rules for prediction markets but did not codify an explicit lexical split. TikTok went further: if a platform describes its product as betting, it does not qualify under the prediction markets category.
Exchanges spent around $200 million on marketing from January to July. Novig launched a campaign with Sydney Sweeney positioning a "sports trading experience." Polymarket brought in LeBron James, Eli Manning and other athletes. DraftKings ran a spot with Kevin Hart and Nick Jonas showing how the product shifts state by state — in New Jersey the characters "place a bet," in California they "make a trade."
Marla Royne Stafford of the University of Nevada noted that platform rules strengthen the incentive to use financial language. "Trading" evokes analysis and expertise, while "betting" suggests risk and entertainment. An American Gaming Association survey found 28% of event contract users describe their activity as investing, compared with 9% among sportsbook customers.
Shane Kraus of the same university cautioned that from a public health standpoint, what matters more than the label is user behaviour: frequency of participation, speed of repetition, chasing losses.
