Polymarket Bar Is Coming to D.C.: “A sports bar for situation monitoring”
Polymarket is making a “situation monitoring bar,” and that’s probably going to be trouble. The prediction market company *read: gambling* unveiled “The Situation Room” this week.
The Washington, D.C. area bar will allow patrons to place live wagers on geopolitical conflicts, world events, and even pop culture. I don’t know what level of capitalism we’re on, but I want off. Polymarket argues that this is the “world’s first bar dedicated to monitoring the situation.” But, I’d argue any sports bar in a city represented by one of the teams has done that before.
Still, the company said on social media. “Imagine a sports bar… but just for situation monitoring – live X feeds, flight radar, Bloomberg terminals, and Polymarket screens.”
Sometimes Internet commenters are hit and miss. But, @RideToFireStar might have nailed this one. He joked, “ So Starbucks but for Alcoholics who were into prediction betting. You guys are going to print money.” I fear that this man named James is one 100 percent correct in his assertion. Live prediction market speculation is absolutely persuasive. Despite how catastrophic gamifying and enabling gambling over everything has been for American society over the last year, we plow forward anyway. This new venture is just a logical extension of the daily fantasy sports models that took root across the country.
Polymarket opens a politics gambling bar
So yeah, it’s a sports gambling bar but with a political twist. Numerous common readers of this site will have become aware of Polymarket after they’ve spent so much money on political coverage and profile over the last couple of months. The idea of a prediction market has become all but inescapable in large swaths of pop culture. When President Donald Trump launched his attacks on Iran there were different wagers you could express. Including whether or not the US was going to kill the Supreme Leader of Iran.
In addition to being ethically dubious, that just seems illegal. But, because Polymarket and its competitors like Kalshi, have so much industry backing from the current political administration in power, they’re free to do as they like. Never mind the fact gambling addiction is steadily rising in the United States. Or, the fact that this activity helps erode empathy amongst the people who place vets and end up on the losing side of things. (Look no further than all those people who bet on Ali Hosseini Khamenei dying. And, then the platforms refused to pay out.)
What is there left to do for a generation starved of actual opportunity but gamble? That’s what a ton of the young men that find themselves in places like this Situation Room end up. At what point does it make sense to work hard and sacrifice to be a part of a society, when you can just get rich quick and be above everybody else? The train of thought is dispiriting but not at all uncommon in certain corners of the Internet.. These (mostly!) men are truly and duly desperate for connection. Unfortunately for them, betting on bombings isn’t going to help you in the long run.
(featured image: Polymarket)
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