(AsiaGameHub) –   This week, Malta’s Economy Minister Silvio Schembri announced that the country is “actively exploring the emerging field of prediction markets, a sector gaining rapid global traction and offering considerable opportunities for innovation.”

He noted that any legislative amendments would require “a clear, forward-looking framework that allows the sector to grow responsibly and at scale.”

Minister Schembri stressed the vital role of user trust. “We understood from the outset that for this industry to expand, users must feel secure, which necessitates maintaining the highest levels of transparency and compliance.”

According to Business Now, he made these remarks during the inauguration of Blockchain.com’s new Malta offices on wednesday.

Strategic positioning in a rapidly evolving market

The global prediction markets industry has demonstrated considerable growth recently. In December 2025, monthly trading volumes hit a record high of over $18 billion, with platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket fueling much of this growth.

Prediction markets operate similarly to financial exchanges but for real-world events, where participants trade contracts linked to particular outcomes.

Regulators face the challenge that prediction market platforms do not align with current gambling compliance frameworks, while operators largely contend that their offerings should be regulated as financial contract trading.

How the underlying data for settling contracts is sourced and the methods for verifying outcomes have become key focus areas for regulators.

In most of Europe, authorities currently view prediction markets as either illegal gambling or unlicensed financial instruments, since no dedicated regulatory frameworks are yet in place.

Numerous European jurisdictions, including Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Poland, have moved to block access to Polymarket, claiming the platform provides gambling services without proper licensing.

Malta may become the first European jurisdiction to establish a dedicated framework for prediction markets.