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What is Apocalypse?
The report, titled The State of VIP Operations, was compiled by The Playa in collaboration with Gaming Operations Academy and WarriorLab.
Conducted in 2026, it surveyed 70 professionals actively engaged in VIP management, including VIP account managers, heads of VIP and consultants, with 64% employed directly by gambling operators.
The report sought to understand how VIP portfolios are managed daily, how the tools are utilised and other key operational challenges.
About Apocalypse
A quarter of respondents said they use both prediction markets and sportsbooks depending on the event they’re considering wagering on. While the 35% reduced use figure may sound like a warning shot to gaming companies, a variety of other studies and surveys indicate that when bettors can choose between a sportsbook and an all-or-nothing exchange, they frequently opt for the former.
While sports event contracts are currently the tentpole category for the prediction market industry, data indicate bettors and traders are embracing other categories.
Fullstory points out that while 62% of consumers have dabbled in sports event contracts, 42% traded economic or financial derivatives on a prediction market while a comparable percentage transacted in an election or political event contract. More than a quarter traded at least one entertainment or pop culture derivative.
About Apocalypse
Marantelli says the London-based White Swan is a significant market maker on several secondary exchanges, accounting for as much as 40% of activity on some platforms. Its particular focus is the RFQ, parlay market.
“Just better margins,” he says of that decision. “I think it’s more defendable. It’s the area that fewer people can do well. So I think it’s more defendable margin, more ability to get long-term contracts and beneficial positions.”
Singles can be profitable, but parlay pricing requires the market maker to calculate the correlations between multiple outcomes and respond dynamically to individual requests. It is a skill set built over years in the sharper regions of the existing sports betting ecosystem.
