Story Lab

Topic:Gambling

Ajay Bhatia represented ADI Predict Street after settling an insider-trading case.

ADI Predict Street had almost no public presence until it was unveiled as an official betting partner for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

It had a landing page with a countdown to a launch date and a gambling licence from Gibraltar.

It announced a separate partnership with DAZN, a global sports streaming giant.

DAZN planned to integrate ADI Predict Street's platform into its coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Who is Len Blavatnik and what does he want with Australia's sports rights?

The company said this was a first step towards rolling the gambling product out more widely.

In Australia, the World Cup will be exclusively broadcast by SBS.

An insider-trading lawsuit in India

Ajay Bhatia was up on stage, representing ADI Predict Street, when it was unveiled as FIFA's betting partner.

He posed for photos alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

ADI Predict Street's Ajay Bhatia was on stage alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Six months earlier, Bhatia had been dealing with a far less glamorous matter.

He had been accused of insider trading in India.

At the time, Bhatia was the CEO and managing director of QuantLase Lab.

He was accused of buying shares in Adani Group ahead of a public announcement.

The case was settled for about $150,000, with no admission of guilt.

The day after Bhatia's history was revealed, ADI Predict Street named a new CEO.

The new CEO, Dimitrios Psarrakis, had a prior professional relationship with Eva Kaili.

ADI Predict Street did not respond to the ABC's questions.

Dimitrios Psarrakis has never been charged with any wrongdoing.

He remains a globally recognised blockchain expert.

No working product

The ADI Predict Street website doesn't yet accept real money bets.

It launched a free to play practice environment, which doesn't appear to have seen any use.

The website also fails to load in some browsers.

When it launches its real-money product, it will be based on an experimental blockchain.

The ADI Foundation launched its namesake blockchain in December 2025.

The foundation then went on an announcement spree.

There was a new cryptocurrency and strategic partnerships with Mastercard and Crypto.com.

ADI's Ajay Bhatia signed the partnership with banking platform Fasset.

The foundation made no public announcements about its plans to launch a betting service.

But it was quietly readying itself for the launch.

In late January, ADI Predict Street's website domain was registered.

A few months on, the company received its licence from Gibraltar's gambling regulator.

It was issued in record time.

The Gibraltar licence does not cover the use of its products outside Europe.

Prediction markets

ADI Predict Street refers to itself as a prediction market.

The difference between a prediction market and an online betting site is largely technical.

Prediction markets are blockchain-based gambling platforms.

The two major prediction market providers have become controversial in recent months.

Australia's media regulator warned Polymarket last year.

The ACMA is seeking additional information from DAZN about implications for Australian customers.

Practice Listening