Regarding the question of locking up money for so long, do prediction markets generally require bets to be 100% funded? That seems like it makes these bets unnecessarily capital-intensive.
In futures markets bets are generally margined and marked to market daily (or more often). If the market moves in your favor, you could withdraw money accordingly, but if it moves against you then you must add more capital or else liquidate your position. Overall this allows placing trades (sometimes long-term trades) without having to put up as much capital.
The amount of margin required for a particular bet generally depends on the liquidity and volatility of the market in question.
Regarding the question of locking up money for so long, do prediction markets generally require bets to be 100% funded? That seems like it makes these bets unnecessarily capital-intensive.
In futures markets bets are generally margined and marked to market daily (or more often). If the market moves in your favor, you could withdraw money accordingly, but if it moves against you then you must add more capital or else liquidate your position. Overall this allows placing trades (sometimes long-term trades) without having to put up as much capital.
The amount of margin required for a particular bet generally depends on the liquidity and volatility of the market in question.