Classico

About Classico

Prediction market operators are on legal losing streaks, confirming that Beynon is onto something when he says the regulatory environment is the biggest risk facing the industry.

“We continue to view regulation as the largest risk to prediction markets,” says the analyst. “While industry growth remains robust, adverse legal outcomes could materially impact sports contract availability and long-term adoption.”

Amid a string of losses in federal appellate courts, it appears increasingly prediction markets are angling to take their cases to the U.S. Supreme Court, banking that the high court will allow them to continue offering sports event contracts free of state gambling regulations.

What is Classico?

Excluding lotteries, the Gambling Commission reported that GGY rose 4.7% to £13.2 billion ($17.7 billion) between April 2025 and March 2026.

Growth was strongest online, where remote casino, betting, and bingo GGY climbed 6.9% to £8.3 billion ($11.1 billion), compared with a modest 1.1% increase across land-based sectors.

This digital expansion coincided with a continued shrinkage in physical retail. Great Britain had 8,081 licensed premises at the end of the period, down 2% year-on-year.

How to play Classico

Rashid received a 17‑month sentence following a hearing in U.S. District Court, where he admitted to a series of breaches that prosecutors said showed he had not reformed.

In 2021, Judge Gloria Navarro sentenced Rashid to 33 months at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Ore., followed by three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to one count of using an interstate facility in aid of unlawful activity—specifically, a prostitution service.

According to the FBI, which raided his Las Vegas house on human trafficking warrants in 2014, Rashid “persuaded, induced, enticed and caused hundreds of victims to prostitute themselves for his benefit” beginning in 2002.