The prediction markets are catching on with Wall Street interns

Spencer Platt/Getty Images Morgan Stanley surveyed more than 500 interns about their habits, including on AI and betting.

AI use surged compared to last year, though more than 60% are worried about job replacement.

More than a quarter of interns said they'd used a prediction market app in the past year.

The summer intern hunched over their phone, surreptitiously typing away, might be doing one of two things: betting on a prediction market or managing an AI chatbot.

Morgan Stanley's equity research team asked the firm's summer interns about both their AI use and, for the first time, betting habits as part of its annual survey.

More than 500 North American interns, most of whom are 21 or younger, participated in this year's survey , which was conducted in June and published in August.

More than a quarter of the interns said they'd used a betting or prediction market app in the past year, with Kalshi and Polymarket as the top two choices.

Around 14% of those of betters said they'd used Kalshi, and 55% said they have multiple betting apps.

Interns are relatively well aligned with the country's overall adult population: 21% of respondents said they'd used a prediction market platform, according to a national survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the National Council on Problem Gambling in May.

In the same survey, 37% of respondents between 18 and 34 reported using one of the platforms.

Betting apps are under increasing scrutiny, as multiple states have initiated legal or regulatory enforcement against them, and some companies have banned employees from trading on the platforms.

A source familiar with Morgan Stanley's policy confirmed that the firm's employee code of conduct covers trading and investing topics, including prediction markets, but did not provide further details.

Kalshi's head of institutional previously told Business Insider that the company is trying to lure Wall Street firms onto its platform, and said part of its appeal is as a data source for investors.

Some have expressed concern over insider trading on the platforms and the limited regulation .