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Polymarket says 'journalism is better when it’s backed by live markets'

Nieman Lab · Hanaa' Tameez · last updated

Predictions market Polymarket and Substack are now “exclusive,” the companies announced. And the relationship getting serious is raising a few eyebrows.

On Wednesday, Substack announced the new features that allow writers to embed prediction markets data directly into their newsletters and in Notes. (Instead of pasting in a link from Polymarket, writers can now search for and add data through the Substack Editor.) The features build on the partnership first announced in 2024 and seem to be aimed at encouraging more Substack writers to use prediction markets data.

Polymarket has also joined Substack’s sponsorship pilot program, “supporting a cohort of creators who integrate these tools into their work,” Substack cofounder and CEO Chris Best wrote in a post. According to Best, 20% of its top 250 “highest-revenue publications” have already used the features first introduced two years ago.

“Journalism is better when it’s backed by live markets,” Polymarket tweeted as part of Wednesday’s announcement. (I emailed the press teams at both companies to clarify what they meant. I’ll update this story if I receive a response.)

Prediction markets — also known as betting markets — have been likened to sports gambling. They’ve made their way into journalism in various ways in recent years. In 2025, Sports Illustrated launched its own prediction platform called SI Predict. In December, CNN made Kalshi — another predictions market platform — its “official partner.” Last month, Dow Jones inked a deal with Polymarket to display prediction data, including in The Wall Street Journal. In recent weeks, at least two news outlets (NBC News and Wired) have reassigned reporters to new beats to cover the growing phenomenon.

Best tweeted his excitement about deepening the collaboration with Polymarket.

But journalists and other folks online seem to be less thrilled and more confused. (Defector has already turned the line “journalism is better when it’s backed by live markets” into a subscription campaign.)

Read Substack’s full announcement here and Polymarket’s here.

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