In the public context, people often cite the consensus predictions to get a better understanding of what people _think_ will happen vs. what they _want_ to happen.

In a corporate context, prediction markets are often used internally amongst employees to predict things like sales forecasts, ability to hit milestones, budgets, quantify risks, and predict the outcome of strategic initiatives.

In both contexts, people tend to participate anonymously so they have the freedom to express what they actually think. Contrast this, especially inside a company, with the politics of saying what you actually think. That "reality based" discourse is unheard of, especially in larger organizations. Prediction markets are often the only venue someone can express themselves in a productive way.