Morgan Stanley Joins NEXTPredict as Prediction Markets Bet on 'More Institutional' Play

Morgan Stanley has taken a formal role at the NEXTPredict summit in New York on October 22-23, acting as a strategic partner and leading a day-two discussion focused on institutional capital for prediction markets. The bank will be represented by Stephen Grambling, who covers U.S. gaming, lodging and leisure research—a desk that also covers sportsbooks. NEXT.io co-founder Pierre Lindh said Morgan Stanley is the first bank to publicly attach its name to an initiative in this category. Industry leaders at the summit plan to address what would attract institutional money to prediction markets and the market-structure, participation and risk issues that remain. Lindh and Grambling have both noted that while prediction markets are drawing attention across the financial system, meaningful institutional participation depends on clearer definitions of opportunity and risk, as well as regulatory certainty. Valuations in the sector have surged even as most activity remains concentrated in sports. Lindh told Decrypt that roughly 90% of liquidity and turnover is in sports contracts, with many users treating these venues like alternative sportsbooks. The reported private valuations cited in coverage include Kalshi at a reported $40 billion and Polymarket at $20 billion; by comparison, DraftKings is worth about $13 billion on public markets. Proponents argue investors are pricing in an evolution of the market: a shift toward institutional use cases such as hedging business exposures that conventional instruments do not cover, or using market odds as a forecasting input for research desks. Lindh gave examples including firms hedging event-driven revenue risks and NEXT.io using internal staff markets to forecast its own commercial outcomes. That said, senior bankers and firms have indicated they are awaiting more legal clarity before committing large-scale capital; state-level litigation and regulatory frameworks remain open questions. Morgan Stanley is not a newcomer to the space. The bank participated in Kalshi’s $1 billion Series F in May (which valued the exchange at $22 billion in that round), and its wealth-management arm has previously assessed the sector’s rapid growth relative to regulation. The addition of Grambling and other speakers brings the confirmed NEXTPredict lineup to 91 across five stages, with about 2,500 attendees expected.