Portland man made $1K watching Love Island USA as reality TV viewers find a way to turn fandom into earnings

“I personally don’t even like to watch the events,” Button told Bloomberg. “I still have not ever seen a tennis game or watched ‘Love Island.’”

He started with about $8, placing bets on several couples to win the show. A few months later, he was up about $1,000. His logic was that if one couple didn’t make it to the finale, another might, giving him a chance to walk away with a payout.

Prediction markets are blowing up

Prediction markets let people bet on the outcome of future events, from elections and sporting events to reality TV shows. According to a September Pew Research Center analysis, combined monthly trading volume on Kalshi and Polymarket, two of the biggest prediction market platforms, more than doubled from $26 billion in May to $53 billion in July 2026.

While sports accounted for much of that growth, reality TV is finding its own audience on these platforms. Over the summer, roughly $80 million was traded on Kalshi markets tied to the U.S. and U.K. versions of “Love Island,” Bloomberg cited.

It’s not exactly hard to see the appeal. Reality TV fans have spent years gathering around their televisions with a glass of wine, a charcuterie board and plenty of opinions about who deserves to win. They host watch parties, debate their favourite couples and spend the season guessing who will make it to the finale. Now, those predictions can come with a potential payout.

“Reality TV has always invited viewers to guess who goes home, and prediction markets let them put real money behind the hunch they were already sharing in the group chat,” Evan Nierman, CEO of crisis PR firm Red Banyan, told Moneywise. “A financial stake makes a casual fan feel like a player, which is exactly what these platforms are selling.”

For Kalshi, reality TV could be a way to bring in a whole new audience. Women now make up 26% of the platform’s users, up from just 13% ten months earlier, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Be wary of the markets

While some people are making money betting on reality TV, there’s no guarantee they’ll come out ahead. Just like other types of betting, a wrong prediction can mean losing the money you put in.