Analysis

    NEXTPredict NYC 2026: Inside the Prediction Markets Industry's Inaugural Summit

    NEXTPredict NYC 2026 brings 2,500 prediction market operators, investors, and regulators to Hudson Yards on October 22-23. Here's what to expect.

    By Prediction Markets US Analysis DeskSunday, October 11, 20268 min read
    NEXTPredict NYC 2026: Inside the Prediction Markets Industry's Inaugural Summit

    Two weeks before the 2026 midterm elections — the most-traded political event in prediction market history — the industry will stop, gather, and take stock of itself. On October 22-23, NEXTPredict NYC brings 2,500 operators, investors, regulators, and builders to Convene Hudson Yards in Manhattan for what organizers are calling the world's first large-scale, dedicated prediction markets summit.

    The timing is not accidental. More than $750 million in notional volume has already been traded on midterm election markets, according to CNN — an almost eightfold increase over the $92.4 million Americans wagered on Congressional races during the entire 2024 cycle, per NBC News. By the time votes are counted on November 4, one watchdog research group estimates total volume could exceed $1.6 billion. The industry that everyone in that Hudson Yards conference room has built, or is funding, or is regulating, is about to face its biggest public test.

    What Is NEXTPredict NYC?

    NEXTPredict NYC 2026 is the inaugural annual summit produced by NEXT.io, the media and events company behind the NEXT Summit series. The event is positioned as the first conference built exclusively for the prediction markets sector — distinct from the broader gaming, fintech, or trading conferences where prediction markets have historically appeared as a session or side track.

    The program spans two full days across five stages, with 200 confirmed speakers. Attendance is capped at 2,500 delegates drawn from prediction market operators, institutional investors, market makers, startup founders, regulators, legal professionals, technology suppliers, and media.

    "We started NEXTPredict because this industry needed a serious place to do business," said Pierre Lindh, co-founder and managing director of NEXTPredict. "The people who will define the next decade of prediction markets are going to meet each other here."

    The venue — Convene Hudson Yards — is a conference and events facility anchored in Manhattan's West Side, providing the multi-track programming infrastructure a two-day summit of this scale requires.

    Why This Moment

    Prediction markets have moved faster in the past two years than most industries move in a decade. The landmark CFTC approval of Kalshi as a federally designated contract market, followed by federal court rulings clearing the way for election contracts, opened the door to a regulated, mainstream prediction market sector in the United States.

    Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour, confirmed as NEXTPredict's headline speaker, has grown the company into one of the defining operators in the category — raising $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation in March 2026. That trajectory, from a court-fought CFTC approval to a $22 billion valuation within a few years, has validated the regulatory thesis the industry had been arguing for half a decade.

    Meanwhile, the midterms have become the sector's highest-profile test. An NBC News analysis published in July 2026 counted 1,408 open midterm-related markets on Kalshi and Polymarket alone; by mid-October, that number had grown to more than 21,000, according to data compiled by the Anti-Corruption Data Collective. The crowd intelligence these markets generate — who controls the Senate, who wins the House, which individual races flip — will be measured against final results in real time on election night.

    "These midterms are going to generate a lot of interest because there's a lot at stake in them. In that way, this is one of the biggest tests for prediction markets," author James Surowiecki remarked on Netflix's documentary on the sector.

    The Speaker Lineup: Industry, Institutional, and Regulatory

    The speaker lineup reflects where the industry sees its most consequential relationships right now: regulatory, institutional, and media.

    From the platforms: Tarek Mansour (Kalshi) headlines as the anchor industry voice. Senior leaders from DraftKings, Underdog, Betr, and Crypto.com are also confirmed, according to NEXT.io — representing both the direct-to-consumer exchange and the distribution-layer models that define the current US market structure.

    From institutional finance: Delegates include senior representatives from Blackstone, Bank of America, Bloomberg Intelligence, and Acies Investment — signaling that prediction markets have moved from a curiosity to a portfolio consideration for major institutional capital.

    From media and analysis: The moderator and host roster reads like a roundup of the outlets that have most seriously committed to prediction market coverage. Contessa Brewer (CNBC), Charles Payne (Fox Business), Marshall Cohen (CNN), Elliott Stein (Bloomberg Intelligence), Nick Devor (Barron's), Emily Stewart (Business Insider), Nicholas Thompson (CEO, The Atlantic), Madison Mills (Axios), and Chuck Todd are all confirmed on the program.

    The presence of media figures of this stature is itself a data point. Prediction market coverage in mainstream financial and political media has shifted from reactive mentions to sustained editorial investment. At NEXTPredict, major outlets have executives and senior correspondents anchoring full sessions.

    The Big Questions on the Agenda

    Several live issues will drive the most substantive conversations at Hudson Yards:

    The CFTC swap NPRM. On October 9, the CFTC published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would classify event contracts — including sports, politics, weather, and cultural events — as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. If finalized as proposed, this would apply the full regulatory apparatus of the swaps market to prediction market contracts. The comment period is open; the outcome is genuinely uncertain. Every operator in the room has a direct stake.

    State-level enforcement. Even as the federal regulatory framework has largely cleared, state attorneys general and gaming regulators have moved aggressively. Missouri, Tennessee, New York, and other states have either filed lawsuits or taken enforcement actions in recent months. The circuit split on federal preemption — some courts ruling the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state law, others ruling it does not — is now heading toward a potential Supreme Court resolution.

    The institutional capital question. The presence of Blackstone and Bank of America delegates signals a shift: institutional investors are now asking how to get exposure to prediction markets, not whether to. The deal-making, partnership, and capital formation that is the stated purpose of NEXTPredict's format — "the room where the category becomes a business," in Lindh's framing — will run on these conversations.

    Markets vs. polls at scale. The midterms are 14 days away. When prediction market platforms are tracking more than 21,000 election contracts and the whole media ecosystem is watching, the accuracy of those markets on election night will either cement or complicate every claim the industry has made about crowd wisdom at scale.

    What the Midterm Markets Show Right Now

    The prediction market positions heading into NEXTPredict's conference days are themselves a live read of where the industry thinks the midterms are headed. PredictionMarkets.US aggregates real-time data across Kalshi, Polymarket, and PredictIt.

    Live market view — track these prices yourself:

    Who Attends and How to Get In

    NEXTPredict structured its access model around three pass categories: MarketMaker and Trader passes for active traders and market makers, Startup passes for early-stage founders building in the prediction market space, and Media passes for journalists and creators. All applications are reviewed individually — the event is curated, not open-registration.

    For traders and operators, the timing of the summit — between the World Series, the NBA season opener, and the midterms — makes it one of the highest-signal weeks on the prediction market calendar. The introductions and partnerships that come out of a summit like this tend to shape what happens in the following year.

    Full agenda and pass applications are available at nextpredict.io.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is NEXTPredict NYC 2026? NEXTPredict NYC 2026 is the inaugural prediction markets summit produced by NEXT.io. It takes place October 22-23 at Convene Hudson Yards in New York City, bringing together 2,500 delegates across operators, investors, founders, regulators, and media. It is the first large-scale conference dedicated exclusively to the prediction markets industry.

    Who is speaking at NEXTPredict NYC? Confirmed speakers include Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of Kalshi, as headline speaker. Senior leaders from DraftKings, Underdog, Betr, and Crypto.com are also confirmed. Media hosts and moderators include Contessa Brewer (CNBC), Charles Payne (Fox Business), Chuck Todd, Marshall Cohen (CNN), and Nicholas Thompson (CEO, The Atlantic).

    When and where is NEXTPredict NYC 2026? October 22-23, 2026, at Convene Hudson Yards, New York City.

    Can I attend NEXTPredict NYC? Access is through an application process. Three pass types are available: MarketMaker and Trader, Startup, and Media. See nextpredict.io for details.

    Why does NEXTPredict matter for prediction market traders? The conference happens 14 days before the 2026 midterms — the largest prediction market volume event in US history, with more than $750 million already traded. It is where the operators, capital, regulators, and media shaping the industry's next phase will be in the same building, two weeks before the results that will serve as its most visible public scorecard.

    Conclusion

    NEXTPredict NYC 2026 arrives at the moment when prediction markets have moved from regulatory experiment to mainstream financial infrastructure. The summit is not an insider gathering — it is a substantive business event where the operators, capital, regulators, and media who will shape the next phase of the sector's growth are in the same building for two days.

    The midterms will give everyone watching a scorecard. For the prediction market industry, the more meaningful outcome may be the conversations already happening in the Hudson Yards hallways before the votes are counted.

    Track live midterm and election prediction markets at PredictionMarkets.US.

    Sources & Verification

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