Published: Updated: International Press: SiGMA World Covers Bettie as "The German Polymarket?"
Bettie has arrived on the international stage. SiGMA World, one of the widest-reaching international trade publications of the gaming and prediction market industry and known for its worldwide SiGMA summits, has published an in-depth profile of Bettie: "Points, prizes, and predictions: Germany's answer to the prediction market puzzle". The heading of its core section says it all: "The German Polymarket?"
For us, this is more than a nice press clipping. While Polymarket and Kalshi are being blocked across Europe, the international industry is looking at Germany. And when it talks about prediction markets in Germany, it talks about Bettie. Here is our summary of what the article covers.
Who Is Writing About Us
SiGMA World is the media house behind the global SiGMA conferences (Malta, Dubai, Asia, the Americas), where the international iGaming and prediction market industry meets: operators, investors and regulators. That this audience is being introduced to a German play-money product shows one thing: the German route to the prediction market is now recognized internationally as a model of its own.
What the Article Covers
SiGMA portrays Bettie as the attempt to build prediction markets in Europe from a different angle: with points, sponsored prizes and social competition instead of real money. The article traces the path of founder Vincent Betz: computer science studies with a stint at UC Berkeley, an exit with his first startup in 2025, then back to Berlin and the launch of Bettie (at the time still under the name Prediqu).
A few key points from the profile:
Hundreds of users in the first days. SiGMA reports that the first version of Bettie attracted hundreds of users within days of launch, with practically no advertising. Betz in the interview: "People see it as a fun game, and there is clearly demand for it."
The questions make the difference. The article highlights what sets Bettie apart from the sober US platforms: the mix of serious and deliberately everyday questions. SiGMA names concrete examples from the platform: Will Bayern Munich win the 2026/27 title? Will the German temperature record fall? Will the most expensive Maß at Oktoberfest cost more than €16.50? And how many minutes late will the ICE train from Cologne to Berlin be? Exactly this everyday relevance is the key, says Betz: sport pulls users onto the platform, and there they discover events they could not predict anywhere before.
How Bettie resolves questions. SiGMA also describes the editorial mechanics behind it: around ten new questions per day, some submitted by users, some generated by a system that watches news and social media trends. For every yes/no question, two sources are defined in advance, checked with software support after the event and additionally verified by humans in the early phase. Numeric questions run on external data providers and APIs. Transparent resolution is the foundation a prediction market stands on. More on this in our glossary and on the results page.
A business model SiGMA calls "creative". The article describes the free-to-play model with brand sponsorships as a deliberate answer to the German legal situation: no dedicated licensing system for prediction markets, real-money platforms falling under gambling or financial law depending on their structure, and for exactly that reason a market that established operators avoid. Betz in the original: "I saw an opportunity in Germany because the regulatory uncertainty has deterred many potential competitors." Brands can sponsor leagues and competitions in the app in which users predict for prizes: our partner league model.
The road ahead. SiGMA also quotes Betz on the European perspective: he firmly expects prediction markets to establish themselves in Europe ("I do not see a future in which prediction markets do not become established here") and argues for a regulated European framework instead of a reality in which European consumers carry their money to offshore operators. The article places this in the current landscape: France has Polymarket blocked at provider level, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Poland and further countries are cracking down, while Malta is working on its own legal framework and Gibraltar is already licensing. Our complete analysis: Are Prediction Markets Legal? Germany and Europe's Rules in 2026.
The data perspective. Especially interesting for publishers and research: SiGMA highlights that Bettie's long-term value lies in its forecasting data, a continuously updated picture of what Germany considers likely. The article also mentions the existing collaboration with Axel Springer SE, one of Europe's largest media companies, and the planned integrations that will let publishers place prediction questions directly beneath news articles.
Why This Coverage Matters
A trade publication that reports daily on Kalshi ($43 billion in trading volume in 2025), Polymarket (an ICE investment of up to $2 billion) and the worldwide regulatory wave dedicates a standalone profile to the German market, and presents exactly one platform in it. Together with the features at Business Insider / Gründerszene ("Baut er das deutsche Polymarket?", asking whether he is building the German Polymarket), a clear picture emerges: Bettie is the reference for prediction markets in Germany. In German, free of charge, with play money, and with an editorial team that resolves questions transparently.
If you want to know how Bettie compares internationally: Prediction Markets Compared 2026: The 10 Platforms That Matter.
And if you would rather try it yourself: What is Germany predicting right now?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Bettie?
Bettie is the German-language play-money prediction market: users make predictions on yes/no questions about politics, business, sport and everyday life, see the crowd's probability estimate in real time and compete in leaderboards and private leagues. No real money, no purchases, no payouts.
Who or what is SiGMA World?
SiGMA World is an international media and events company of the gaming industry and the organizer of the worldwide SiGMA summits. SiGMA News covers prediction markets, regulation and the largest platforms of the industry, and in August 2026 it also covered Bettie in depth.
Why does the press call Bettie "the German Polymarket"?
Because Bettie is the only German-language product that implements the core principle of prediction markets (crowd probabilities for real events) for Germany. The difference: Bettie runs on play money and is therefore legal and free to use, while Polymarket is blocked in Germany and large parts of Europe.
What did SiGMA report about Bettie's user numbers?
According to SiGMA, the first version of Bettie won hundreds of users within days of launch, with almost no marketing. Founder Vincent Betz attributes this to the game-like character and the everyday relevance of the questions.
Where can I find the original article?
The full English-language profile is available at SiGMA News: "Points, prizes, and predictions: Germany's answer to the prediction market puzzle".
Last updated: 2 August 2026. This post summarizes external press coverage.
Sources: SiGMA News (August 2026) · Business Insider / Gründerszene (17 July 2026) · Business Insider / Gründerszene (28 July 2026)