Buraco Plus

What is Buraco Plus?

With all that in mind, it’s not surprising that Macquarie expects sports event contracts will drive approximately 80% of taker volume this year, but Beynon sees other categories growing over the long term.

“We expect non-sports categories such as economics, politics, crypto, and entertainment to gain share over time,” says the analyst.

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.

About Buraco Plus

A customer might buy a team at 55 or 56 cents expecting the price to rise to 58 or 59 cents, he explains. If it falls to 45 cents instead, the trader may refuse to accept the loss and continue holding the position.

“People will lose money faster on exchanges for lots of reasons,” Marantelli says. “It inherently increases spend, volatility, lots of things. And you’re playing against a sharper audience than you’re playing against at the DraftKings sportsbook.”

He compares the effect with sportsbook cash-out features, which gave customers more apparent control over their bets but may also have encouraged greater spending. The crucial difference is that an exchange customer can be facing a specialist whose entire business is identifying inaccurately priced contracts.

What is Buraco Plus?

This reliance places many high-value players at risk of “silent churn”, where VIP players become inactive without warning, posing a significant challenge for operators.

The report, titled The State of VIP Operations, was compiled by The Playa in collaboration with Gaming Operations Academy and WarriorLab.

Conducted in 2026, it surveyed 70 professionals actively engaged in VIP management, including VIP account managers, heads of VIP and consultants, with 64% employed directly by gambling operators.