Goldman Sachs CEO praises prediction markets and plans to enter the real-event trading arena.

PANews reported on January 16th that Goldman Sachs is exploring opportunities in prediction markets, a move aimed at allowing the investment bank to benefit from this rapidly evolving field of betting on real-world events. CEO Solomon called prediction markets "very interesting" and said he had personally met with the heads of two of the largest prediction market firms in the field over the past two weeks. "We have a team here engaging with them and conducting research," Solomon said on Thursday's analyst call following the bank's fourth-quarter earnings release. The entry of this mainstream Wall Street firm into prediction markets could enhance the legitimacy and trading volume of this less regulated but burgeoning financial segment. Several market-making firms have already joined the race.