Earlier this year Thomas Christian Owens tried prediction market trading for the first time. He opened a Kalshi account in January and after depositing $500 began placing wagers three months later.

"It was a little bit of a birthday gift to myself to throw some money in there and just have some fun," the 29-year-old manufacturing engineer told CBS News.

Owens did not expect large profits. He said he simply wanted extra cash to support himself and relatives. Early wins gave way to losses and within a month the Oklahoma City resident was behind.

Young men like Owens are drawn to prediction markets by the promise of thrills fast money and sometimes financial stability.

Nearly 40 percent of men aged 18 to 34 use these platforms according to an April survey by Navigator Research. On Kalshi roughly three million of four million active users are male and six in ten fall between 18 and 34 years old.

Prediction markets have faced questions over possible insider trading with men involved in several notable cases. These include a Google worker accused of earning more than $1.2 million on Polymarket using private company data a U.S. special forces member arrested for betting on the ouster of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and former Representative George Santos under investigation for alleged Kalshi trades.

Experts say male dominance is unsurprising given greater risk tolerance. "Young men tend to express more confidence than women when it comes to financial decisions and taking risks," said Michael Liersch a behavioral finance expert and chief planning officer at Edelman Financial Engines. "That has to do with a strong belief about being right."

The appeal of prediction markets

These platforms let users wager on future events through yes-or-no contracts priced from zero to one dollar. Correct calls pay one dollar per contract while wrong ones lose the stake.

Traders can bet on topics ranging from government confirmation of aliens to the winner of the World Cup. Owens a basketball fan focuses on sports including wagers involving his local NBA team the Oklahoma City Thunder.

One early basketball combo bet returned $456 on a $50 stake for an 800 percent gain. Another successful three-game parlay turned $196 into nearly $1,700.

Popular "mention markets" allow bets on specific words or phrases that public figures may utter. Steven Zhang a 20-year-old UCLA student first learned of Polymarket through an ad about phrases President Trump might use in a debate. He and friends deposited $20 and lost it all.

Zhang now uses Kalshi for uncertain outcomes such as announcer comments during NBA games or developments in the U.S.-Iran situation. "I am starting really small. I think I have like $150 in my account," he said. "I have the amount of money that I am comfortable losing."

Experts link male interest partly to biology. Men often view speculative assets more favorably and worry less about losses. "They have maybe less of what economists call an endowment effect which is when they have a certain amount they do not care if they lose it all as readily as maybe women do," said David Bieri an associate professor at Virginia Tech.

Successful traders also gain social status. "There is social status from being seen as successful in these high-prestige markets," Bieri noted. "Which young man does not want to be the Wolf of Wall Street?"

A path to financial security or a losing bet?

Owens hoped winnings would supplement income and help family members facing hardship. A Northwestern Mutual survey found 75 percent of men feel financially behind and view speculative bets as a way to catch up compared with 69 percent of women.

"When people feel behind sometimes risky choices can look like a shortcut," said John Roberts chief field officer at Northwestern Mutual.

After losses Owens balance fell to $1,700 below his $2,500 deposit. He now limits bets to under $100. "I had almost $4,600 at one point but squandered that for sure," he wrote.

A small number of Kalshi users have earned hundreds of millions yet most do not. A Wall Street Journal review showed more than 67 percent of Polymarket profits went to just 0.1 percent of accounts.

Research by Citizens found the median return for prediction market users was negative 8 percent meaning an $8 loss per $100 spent. "People should not expect to walk into betting of any type and walk away a winner," said Jordan Bender managing director of gaming equity research at Citizens.