Fantasy and sports activities gaming operator Underdog has teamed up with Crypto.com to deliver sports activities prediction markets to 16 states.
The primary rollout is focusing largely on areas within the US the place authorized sports activities betting has not been adopted. The partnership between Underdog and Crypto.com highlights the rising curiosity in sports activities prediction markets, with predictions large Kalshi providing more and more sports-based markets and pressure rising on the CFTC to manage the sector.
Underdog is the primary sports activities gaming platform to enter the rapidly-growing prediction market enviornment. It presents merchants a platform to purchase and promote on the end result of sporting occasions, with the chances altering in accordance with market actions. Crucially, there’s no bookmaker to set the chances.
“Prediction markets are probably the most thrilling developments we’ve seen in a very long time,” stated Underdog founder and CEO Jeremy Levine in a public assertion. “Whereas nonetheless new and evolving, one factor is obvious: the way forward for prediction markets goes to be about sports activities, and nobody does sports activities higher than Underdog.”
Underdog and Crypto.com enters a thriving sports activities prediction markets sector
Already, prediction market operators Robinhood, Kalshi and Polymarket provide sports activities occasion markets, whereas Flutter-owned FanDuel lately introduced it would partner with the CME Group to supply monetary occasions contracts. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins has additionally informed CNBC that there’s curiosity there to enter the sector as properly.
The lure for these firms appears to stem from having the ability to cater to sports activities bettor in states the place gaming regulators and tribal casinos push again on authorized sports activities betting. For instance, California and Texas each don’t permit sports activities betting, but can have interaction in sports activities prediction markets – for now.
There may be rising stress on the CFTC to determine whether or not prediction markets rely as betting. Because it stands, prediction market operators are looking for to achieve a foothold whereas they nonetheless can, forward of any potential regulation.
Featured picture: Crypto.com
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