Robinhood announced on Monday that it will offer event contracts for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Through its subsidiary, Robinhood Derivatives, the popular investing app will allow users to speculate on the election outcomes for former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a press release from the company. This announcement makes Robinhood one of the most prominent companies to enter the burgeoning election betting market.

Starting this week, Robinhood users can trade these event contracts during daily trading hours between 8 a.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET. The contracts, priced between $0.02 and $0.99, will pay out $1 each if the user correctly predicts the winning candidate. According to company spokesperson Christina Trejo, users may purchase up to 5,000 contracts, with a maximum payout of $5,000 if their chosen candidate wins. The final payouts are scheduled for January 7-8, 2025, after election results are certified by Congress.

The trading feature, which Robinhood is implementing through a partnership with ForecastEx, reflects a growing interest in political prediction markets as tools to gauge electoral outcomes. Robinhood’s venture follows a recent legal victory by prediction market platform Kalshi over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which has attempted to limit election betting in the U.S. Kalshi and Interactive Brokers have since introduced their own election contracts, capitalizing on rising interest in the political prediction space.

“By launching election event contracts, Robinhood is providing its users a way to engage with current events,” said a spokesperson from Robinhood. However, the company has specified that only U.S. citizens can participate, and certain individuals, including White House staff and campaign members, are barred from trading due to conflicts of interest.

The election betting industry has attracted considerable attention as the 2024 race tightens. Betting markets, including those on platforms like Polymarket, have overwhelmingly favored a Trump victory in recent months. However, controversies have also emerged, including a recent revelation by Polymarket that a single trader, a French national with extensive financial experience, placed over $28 million in bets on Trump, leading to concerns about market manipulation. Polymarket, currently prohibited for U.S. users following a CFTC cease-and-desist order, has reassured that no tampering was involved.

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