I haven't checked for PredictIt since I am not an American and can't bet there. But the usual financial construction for a betting market where you can take both sides is the same as for a law firm, or a share dealer, all your money held by them is legally separate from their money so even if they get into horrible debt problems their creditors have no possible claim to your funds and you just get it all back in a few weeks after the paperwork is done.
It's clearly not as truly safe as government bonds or insured savings where the government is ultimately on the hook to make you square - but it's pretty safe. I wouldn't put next week's rent money (if I rented) on "Trump lost the election" at PredictIt. But money put aside for the new car, for next year's vacation or for a birthday gift in February? No sweat.
But predictit is not a usual financial construction. For example, the first thing it says is:
> PredictIt is intended and offered as an experimental research and educational facility of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (“Provider” or “We”), not as an investment market or a gambling facility. PredictIt is not regulated by, nor are its operators registered with, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or any other regulatory authority.
I don't know precisely what that means for segregation of funds, but I don't want to just assume they work the way I would imagine them to work.
It's clearly not as truly safe as government bonds or insured savings where the government is ultimately on the hook to make you square - but it's pretty safe. I wouldn't put next week's rent money (if I rented) on "Trump lost the election" at PredictIt. But money put aside for the new car, for next year's vacation or for a birthday gift in February? No sweat.