| Earlier today, it was officially announced... Robinhood (HOOD) has entered into the election trading market - offering their clients an opportunity to buy Harris or Trump contracts leading into next week's election. As long as the Robinhood user meets certain criteria (which includes being a U.S. citizen) they can now trade a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump contract. With this move, Robinhood is moving into an already crowded politics prediction market. Why would they do this? In my view, there are a few reasons... First, it's an opportunistic move. Earlier this month, a platform called Kalshi won a key ruling against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which was seeking to stop the ability to offer election outcome trading. The CFTC is appealing the ruling. But while that plays out, there's an opportunity to offer this service to members, which is what Robinhood quickly decided to do. (NOTE: The trades are being offered through its Robinhood Derivatives unit and ForecastEx, which is operated by Interactive Brokers.) Secondly, this offers Robinhood an excuse to re-engage a large majority of their traders headed into the election. The election markets have generated some controversy, especially since a single French user was responsible for four accounts spending millions to buy the Trump contract. Polymarket said an investigation found the trading was not manipulating the market - but the news of this incident could generate added user interest headed into next week. What better way for HOOD to get users to log back in - and start playing more trades - than using this trigger catalyst? Of course, the odds for pricing these contracts do not use the same methodologies as traditional political polling. As a result, the bid/ask spread cannot be used as a substitute for political polls. However, the fact remains: It's a unique way to re-engage a possible trader headed into a volatile election cycle, which is why I consider it a great idea for Robinhood a week before the election. Will Robinhood be one of the stocks that Karim and I trade during next week's Free War Room Election Open House? There's only one way to find out! Registration is now open for our FREE Open House which starts on November 4, 2024 and runs the WHOLE week. We hope you can join us in real time as we navigate the uncertain and volatile markets surrounding the election. Go here to reserve your spot. Good investing, Bryan | 
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