NEXT.io Podcast

🎙️NEXTPredict Podcast #5 with Rebecca Kossnick, Co-founder & CEO at Hypernatural

Before Kalshi. Before Polymarket. Before prediction markets were on the front page of every newspaper, Meta built one.

In 2020, a small team inside Facebook launched a product called Forecast. No real money, just points and public reputation. Every forecast was made public. And it was, by any measure, remarkably accurate.

Rebecca Kossnick joins Pierre on the NEXTPredict Podcast to tell the full inside story and to explain why Meta is now building a second one, called Arena.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:04 - Welcoming Rebecca Kossnick

01:30 - How Forecast got started inside Facebook's team

03:30 - Launching in April 2020 and the first wave of users

07:29 - The status problem Forecast was solving

10:52 - The challenges: explaining probabilities to users in 2019

15:47 - The grand vision

18:30 - Why Forecast didn't survive

23:48 - Hypernatural: the AI video company Rebecca and Taylor built next

25:43 - Where prediction markets and AI video collide

27:36 - Opportunity or problem?

30:18 - Where does Rebecca see Hypernatural in three years?

NYC Summit - NEXTPredict October 22 - 23, 2026 at Convene 30 Hudson Yards.

🎟 Get your tickets here: https://nextpredict.io/summits/the-worlds-prediction-markets-summit/

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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/409DefE06IKPhZzhDIDpH3?si=06a0ceb6be594746

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/next-io-podcast/id1515442333?l=en-GB

CONNECT WITH NEXTPredict

✩ Website: https://nextpredict.io/

🎙️ NEXT.io Podcast #268 with Michael Pedersen, CEO of Swivel Gaming

In this episode of the NEXT.io Podcast, Michael Pedersen — CEO of Swivel Gaming and one of the most experienced operators in the emerging verticals space — maps out the four products quietly reshaping the iGaming industry: sweepstakes, card rips, prediction markets and ADW.

Swivel has been building in this space for five years. Michael took over as CEO in March and relaunched the business around exactly these verticals. In this conversation he goes through each one in depth: what it is, where the opportunity is, and where it falls short.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:36 - Sponsors

03:41 - Welcoming Michael Pedersen

03:50 - Why Swivel doubled down on emerging verticals

06:26 - How many emerging verticals actually exist?

08:19 - Legal opinions vs. regulators

11:08 - Sweepstakes:dying or still growing?

16:15 - The sweepstakes player vs. the iGaming player

20:04 - Can sweepstakes work outside the US?

23:22 - Card rips: what is it and why is it blowing up?

31:55 - How complex is card rips for operators?

39:26 - Prediction markets: the iGaming operator perspective

44:39 - The ProphetX partnership explained

52:27 - ADW explained: a slot machine powered by a real horse race

56:08 - The challenges with ADW margins

01:00:15 - Are there more emerging verticals on the horizon?

01:06:12 - Emerging verticals are like social media platforms

01:07:37 - "iGaming now feels old school"

01:08:17 - Where will Swivel be in three years?

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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/409DefE06IKPhZzhDIDpH3?si=dcdf9b8d400e479a

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/next-io-podcast/id1515442333?l=en-GB

CONNECT WITH NEXT.IO

✩ Website: https://next.io/

This episode of NEXT.io is brought to you by:

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology

https://pragmatic.solutions/

Pragmatic Play – Industry-leading content provider

https://www.pragmaticplay.com/en/

Sponsored by:

Hard Rock Games: https://www.hardrockgames.com/

Creedroomz: https://www.creedroomz.com/

🎙️NEXTPredict Podcast #4 with Chuck Todd on the 2026 Midterms, Prediction Market Blind Spots & the Future of Political Forecasting

Chuck Todd spent three decades at NBC News as political director and moderator of Meet the Press. He now runs The Chuck ToddCast independently. He is also the official ambassador for NEXTPredict New York, taking place October 22-23.

In this episode, Pierre sits down with Chuck to do something very few people are qualified to do: speak to both the political reality and the prediction market picture at the same time and point out exactly where the two come apart.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:39 - Welcoming Chuck Todd

01:51 - Are we really living in unprecedented times?

06:03 - What actually unites American politics

11:46 - The midterms: pattern repeating or something different?

13:25 - "Blue wave or blue tsunami?"

15:48 - The agricultural tariff story nobody is covering

17:42 - The Trump voter tunes in much later

19:00 - Texas: the race that could reshape American politics

24:21 - The youth turnout problem

29:05 - Trump making it about himself — mistake or only play left?

31:30 - The Iran war: fractures inside the Republican coalition

34:24 - Unpopular wars as political undoing

36:38 - The Pete Hagseth impeachment vote

38:34 - The Democratic Party: no leader, no alignment

39:45 - Michigan as the decider

44:04 - The rise of the democratic socialist movement

45:05 - The K-shaped economy

47:46 - Will the midterms happen on time?

49:40 - The real risk is not the election. It's the certification.

51:12 - Leaving NBC: the pressure from corporate boardrooms was real

56:07 - What Chuck wants to learn at NEXTPredict NYC

NYC Summit - NEXTPredict October 22 - 23, 2026 at Convene 30 Hudson Yards.

🎟 Get your tickets here: https://nextpredict.io/summits/the-worlds-prediction-markets-summit/

🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/409DefE06IKPhZzhDIDpH3?si=06a0ceb6be594746

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/next-io-podcast/id1515442333?l=en-GB

CONNECT WITH NEXTPredict

✩ Website: https://nextpredict.io/

🎙️NEXTPredict Podcast #3 with JB Mackenzie, General Manager & VP Futures & International at Robinhood.

Two years ago, Robinhood launched one prediction market on one election night.

Today it's their second biggest revenue line — bigger than crypto, bigger than equities. Over 2 million customers have traded a prediction market on Robinhood, and the industry has gone from 3 CFTC-regulated exchanges to over 22 in the same period.

JB Mackenzie, VP and General Manager of Futures and Prediction Markets at Robinhood, joins Pierre on the NextPredict Podcast to go under the hood on how this happened — and where it goes next.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:34 - JB welcome

01:47 - The Sunday in London that started it all

03:09 - When did this stop being a feature and start being a business?

04:49 - Why Robinhood chose not to vertically integrate

09:23 - From 3 exchanges to 22

11:19 - The crypto.com and OG partnership explained

16:22 - The customer is the secret sauce.

18:21 - It feels like a Sprint but it's a Marathon

19:52 - Prediction markets: now Robinhood's second biggest revenue line

22:26 - "Prediction markets wasn't the plan"

24:23 - Sports is the headline.

27:17 - Will prediction markets replace the insurance industry?

30:29 - The #1 thing holding prediction markets back

33:31 - The midterms: Robinhood's election hub explained

35:04 - Where does this space look in 2029?

36:02 - Prediction markets as financial education

NYC Summit - NEXTPredict October 22 - 23, 2026 at Convene 30 Hudson Yards.

🎟 Get your tickets here: https://nextpredict.io/summits/the-worlds-prediction-markets-summit/

🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/409DefE

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

CONNECT WITH NEXTPredict

✩ Website: https://nextpredict.io/

🎙️NEXTPredict Podcast #2 with Jan Czarnocki, Chief of Staff and General Counsel at Elastics

In this episode of the NextPredict Podcast, Jan Czarnocki — Chief of Staff and General Counsel at Elastics, and one of the first angel investors in the company — shares a ground-level view of what prediction markets actually look like from the inside.

Elastics is building an AI-powered trading terminal for prediction markets, designed to give serious traders one place for research, execution, automation and portfolio management across Polymarket, Kalshi and beyond.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:43 - Who is Jan Czarnocki and what is Elastics?

01:28 - The biggest structural problem

03:37 - Sharps vs. fish: who is actually on prediction markets?

06:12 - The poker boom parallel

08:20 - Losing money on geopolitics markets

10:57 - How Next.io hedged its own conference on a prediction market

12:37 - Prediction markets vs. insurance

15:39 - AI trading assistant for everyone

18:29 - Are AI bots actually profitable on prediction markets?

22:26 - Why Elastics augments sharps instead of replacing them

23:51 - Is the playing field levelling between retail and institutional traders?

26:23 - The vibe coding debate

31:53 - What will be Elastics' killer feature?

34:50 - Prediction market space in 3 years

39:47 - The big vision: one terminal for all serious traders

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CONNECT WITH NEXTPredict ✩ Website: https://nextpredict.io/

🎙️NEXTPredict Podcast #1 with Robin Hanson, Assoc. Professor, Economics at George Mason UniversityRobin Hanson has been arguing we should "bet on what's true" since the late 1980s — decades before Kalshi and Polymarket turned prediction markets into a billion-dollar industry. A physicist-turned-economist who helped invent the market-making math running under today's biggest betting platforms, Hanson joins the show to explain why prediction markets are having their moment now, what's next for the space, and why he thinks the real prize isn't sports betting. It's "decision markets" that could change how governments, companies, and the Fed make decisions?⏰ Timestamps:00:00 - Intro: who is Robin Hanson01:40 - What is a prediction market?04:06 - Why now: the regulatory shift behind the boom06:32 - Decision markets: paying for better information13:50 - Governments, the Fed, and antitrust by market17:40 - Diverse perspectives and trader bias21:50 - Insider trading and the "Rounders" problem26:54 - Gambling addiction and who should regulate prediction markets30:54 - Wisdom of crowds vs. first principles: the Nokia/iPhone test34:55 - Futarchy: replacing shareholder votes with markets35:43 - Where is this space heading in three years?38:35 - Final thoughts: keeping companies honest40:11 - Sign-off🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTYoutube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFqA5f5TsdM0&si=nrKerx5GXu4mDYI4Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...CONNECT WITH NEXTPredict✩ Website: https://nextpredict.io/

🎙️ NEXT.io Podcast #267 with Martin Martirosyan, CEO of Imagine Live Group & Nadiya Attard, Chief Commercial Officer

Imagine Live has grown from 7 tables in 2022 to over 150 today — with studios in Armenia, Romania and Spain. But the bigger story is what's coming next. In this episode, Martin and Nadiya break down the AI dealer debate, the operator dependency trap, and why quality is the one thing they refuse to discount.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro & Sponsors

01:41 - Meet Nadiya Attard & Martin Martirosyan

02:14 - Nadiya's move to Imagine Live: what impressed her

03:24 - Imagine Live's origin story: from 7 tables to 150+

04:33 - AI live dealers: hype or the future?

06:18 - Will AI replace real dealers? Martin's honest take

08:30 - Are players actually asking for AI dealers?

09:44 - How Imagine Live uses AI: infrastructure, not a gimmick

16:30 - Localization in live casino: why one Spanish doesn't fit all

24:00 - The Armenia advantage: talent, speed and studio quality

31:00 - Breaking into new markets: the operator relationship challenge

38:00 - The operator dependency trap: why 40%+ from one supplier is a risk

41:15 - The Playtech monopoly lesson and what's repeating now

44:25 - Transparent commercial pricing: Nadiya's philosophy

46:21 - Imagine Live's USPs: quality, speed and technology

50:31 - Predictions: where is live casino in three years?

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nextdotio/podcasts

Apple: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/next-io-podcast/id1515442333⁠

CONNECT WITH ⁠NEXT.IO⁠

✩ Website: ⁠https://next.io/⁠

This episode of ⁠NEXT.io⁠ is brought to you by:

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology

⁠https://pragmatic.solutions/⁠

Pragmatic Play – Industry-leading content provider

⁠https://www.pragmaticplay.com/en/⁠

Sponsored by:

Hard Rock Games: ⁠https://www.hardrockgames.com/⁠

Creedroomz: ⁠https://www.creedroomz.com/⁠

🎙️ NEXT.io Podcast #266 with Way Yuhl, Entrepreneur, Investor and Geopolitical Analyst

Are we really living in unprecedented times or have we just forgotten our history?

In this episode, Pierre sits down with Way Yuhl, entrepreneur, investor and geopolitical analyst, for one of the most wide-ranging and thought-provoking conversations we've had on the NEXT.io Podcast. Way brings a 100-year historical lens to the chaos of 2026 and makes a case that is equal parts sobering and surprisingly optimistic.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro & Sponsors

01:34 - Welcoming Way Yuhl

02:49 - How cultural geography shapes geopolitics

04:30 - Why prediction markets beat expert analysts

07:07 - The wisdom of the crowds: how it actually works

10:27 - The limits of prediction markets

12:28 - Way's method: how he reads where the world is heading

16:09 - Are we really living in unprecedented times?

19:20 - The 100-year cycle: where does 2026 fit?

26:15 - Trump vs Iran: a culture clash

33:10 - Prediction markets and geopolitical forecasting

39:28 - Putin's endgame: does he want all of Europe?

47:31 - The dragon theory: why China is not the enemy

55:00 - The US-EU relationship and what comes next

01:11:30 - Why World War 3 won't happen

01:13:58 - The nuclear red line that collapses Russia

01:16:00 - Way's optimism: what the next 10 years actually look like

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nextdotio/podcasts

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/next-io-podcast/id1515442333

CONNECT WITH NEXT.IO

✩ Website: https://next.io/

This episode of NEXT.io is brought to you by:

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology

https://pragmatic.solutions/

Pragmatic Play – Industry-leading content provider

https://www.pragmaticplay.com/en/

Sponsored by:

Hard Rock Games: https://www.hardrockgames.com/

Creedroomz: https://www.creedroomz.com/

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the US-Iran MOU was signed on June 17, 2026. Way's read on the conflict proved accurate.

🎙️ NEXT.io Podcast #265 with Todd Haushalter, Chief Product Officer at Evolution.

Todd Haushalter, Chief Product Officer at Evolution, sits down for an unfiltered conversation covering everything the industry is talking about — lawsuits against Light & Wonder and Playtech, why he thinks AI deepfake live dealers are "dead on arrival," and what Evolution's monster 2026 game roadmap looks like.

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro & Sponsors

01:34 - Todd & Pierre: back together

03:28 - Two years at Evolution: what's really changed

04:46 - Suing Light & Wonder over Lightning Roulette

06:25 - The Playtech dossier: how industrial espionage works

13:55 - Is Evolution becoming a value stock?

19:12 - AI-generated games: threat or noise?

20:34 - Deepfake live dealers: why Todd calls it a catastrophic failure

36:20 - Brands vs. AI slots: who wins when games are infinite?

44:26 - The Hasbro deal and the brand-first strategy

52:19 - Competition in live casino: is the iron grip loosening?

58:48 - Aviator: the most impressive success story in iGaming

01:03:51 - Acquisition rumours and Evolution's M&A strategy

01:14:01 - The $2 billion share buyback explained

01:19:18 - Cybercrime in Asia: what can actually be said

01:22:10 - European regulatory headwinds and revenue pullbacks

01:28:01 - Prediction markets: where does Evolution fit?

01:34:13- The investment case for Evolution right now

01:42:20 - Todd's 3 predictions for the next 3 years

🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhXvQfFm7GE&list=PLo43Fota-gt1sMzujpavaGmRbTiRXETKE

CONNECT WITH ⁠NEXT.IO⁠

✩ Website: ⁠https://next.io/⁠

This episode of ⁠NEXT.io⁠ is brought to you by:

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology

⁠https://pragmatic.solutions/⁠

Pragmatic Play – Industry-leading content provider

⁠https://www.pragmaticplay.com/en/⁠

Sponsored by:

Hard Rock Games: ⁠https://www.hardrockgames.com/⁠

Creedroomz: ⁠https://www.creedroomz.com/

🎙️ NEXT.io Podcast #265 with Alexander Kane, CEO and Founder of Sporttrade

In 2017 - a full year before the US Supreme Court even legalized sports betting - Alex Kane was already building something nobody asked for: a sports exchange.

Now, prediction markets are valued higher than Flutter, the world's biggest gambling company. So was Alex just early, or did he see something everyone else missed?

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro & Sponsors

01:33 - Who is Alex Kane and what is Sporttrade?

02:28 - The Robinhood moment that sparked the idea

04:40 - Why Betfair failed and why the US is different

08:11 - The early years: building a sports exchange before it was legal

11:35 - Where Sporttrade fits in the prediction market boom today

16:56 - Why the boom happened now and not before

22:06 -The impossible debate: is this gambling or a financial tool?

28:21 -Both things can be true

31:46 -Exchange model vs. house model and responsible gambling

37:08 - Market manipulation: the hardest unsolved problem

41:18 - Kalshi at $22B vs Flutter: bubble or breakthrough?

45:00 - What are perpetual futures and why do they matter?

49:31 - Prediction markets as a top-of-funnel product

56:08 - What happens to DraftKings and FanDuel?

01:01:44 - Alex's 3 predictions for the industry in 3 years

🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhXvQfFm7GE&list=PLo43Fota-gt1sMzujpavaGmRbTiRXETKE

CONNECT WITH NEXT.IO

✩ Website: https://next.io/

This episode of NEXT.io is brought to you by:

Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology

https://pragmatic.solutions/

Pragmatic Play – Industry-leading content provider

https://www.pragmaticplay.com/en/

Sponsored by:

Hard Rock Games: https://www.hardrockgames.com/

Creedroomz: https://www.creedroomz.com/