The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) is currently hiring for two key positions within its Financial Services & Trading membership subcategory.
The NCPG is looking to fill the positions of senior manager and communications manager for its Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative. This program aims to promote responsible trading and safeguard trader health in financial market environments.
In May, the NCPG introduced the Financial Services & Trading membership subcategory and received a $2 million donation from the prediction market industry, leading to the creation of the Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative.
Prediction markets and the regulatory agency overseeing them, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), assert that activities such as trading sports outcomes, cryptocurrency prices, weather forecasts, political events, and cultural trends are forms of innovative speculative trading rather than gambling.
Establishing Consumer Protection Standards
The Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative by NCPG aims to set consumer protection standards for the prediction market industry, enhance public awareness of trading-related financial risks, and advocate for responsible trading practices, tools, and support resources.
Regardless of the legal classification of an activity, if it resembles gambling and poses similar risks, it merits robust consumer protections, preventive measures, and access to assistance,” stated NCPG Executive Director Keith Whyte on LinkedIn recently. “With the emergence of sports betting, online gaming, prediction markets, and other wagering forms, our preventive strategies need to evolve accordingly to reduce risks.
The senior manager position at NCPG will oversee the day-to-day operations and growth of the Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative. Responsibilities include creating and managing project timelines, goals, milestones, and performance metrics, as well as coordinating initiative activities across different NCPG departments and external partners.
The communications manager will be responsible for designing consumer-focused initiatives to educate the public, raise awareness, clarify trading-related risks, promote informed decision-making, and encourage early intervention. This role involves developing educational campaigns, digital content, and outreach strategies to explain the intricacies of prediction markets in an engaging and understandable manner.
The senior manager position offers a salary and benefits package ranging from $100,000 to $115,000, while the communications manager role comes with a salary of $70,000 to $85,000. Both positions are remote but entail up to 20% travel.
Challenges in Prediction Market Trading
Prediction markets are structured as peer-to-peer platforms where users trade shares of event outcomes with each other. However, in reality, retail traders often compete against large financial institutions acting as market makers to provide liquidity.
Recent studies indicate that retail traders tend to experience more losses than gains in prediction market trading.
In April, Bloomberg reported that nearly double the number of accounts on Polymarket had incurred losses of at least $1,000 compared to those that made profits of the same amount. The study revealed that 69% of traders end up losing money, with the top 1% of winning accounts generating three-quarters of the profits.