Massachusetts’ top securities regulator has begun an investigation into trading platform Robinhood’s decision to launch a prediction-markets hub that allows users to bet on the outcomes of a range of events, including March Madness college basketball tournaments.
Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, said he was concerned that Robinhood was “linking a gambling event on a popular sports event that’s especially popular to young people to a brokerage account.”
“This is just another gimmick from a company that’s very good at gimmicks to lure investors away from sound investing,” said Galvin, a Democrat known as one of the country’s most aggressive state-level securities regulators.
