DraftKings has made a bold move beyond traditional sports betting by introducing DraftKings Predictions, a separate app that lets users trade contracts linked to real-world results. This launch signals the company’s official entry into regulated prediction markets, a sector that is growing fast across the United States.
DraftKings Enters Event Trading With CME-Backed Predictions Product
The new offering operates under the watch of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, not state gaming authorities. This setup allows DraftKings to offer event-based contracts in 38 states, including major markets where online sports betting is still off-limits. At the start, users can trade in sports and financial outcomes, with plans to add more categories like entertainment and culture later.
Unlike DraftKings’ sportsbook, the Predictions app works more like a trading platform. Users pick yes-or-no outcomes tied to specific events and choose how much to risk on each position. DraftKings serves as a middleman, sending trades to regulated exchanges instead of setting odds itself. At first, trades go through an exchange run by CME Group, giving the platform quick access to established market systems and oversight.
The company aims to grow this setup in the next few months. DraftKings bought Railbird Technologies, a registered prediction exchange, and plans to add it once it is up and running. Linking to multiple exchanges should widen the range of available contracts while giving DraftKings more say over pricing, product design, and long-term financial matters.
DraftKings Enters Crowded Prediction Market with Cautious Strategy
DraftKings now faces off against prediction market experts like Kalshi, who have come into focus by offering sports contracts outside normal gambling channels. These platforms have caught the attention of state regulators and sports leagues, who say prediction markets look like unlicensed betting and might not protect consumers well enough.
To tackle these worries, DraftKings has expanded its current responsible gaming safeguards to the new app. Players can cap their spending, take a break, or ban themselves, and they also have access to learning materials that explain event contracts. The company sees these steps as key to promoting smart use of a product that mixes finance with sports fandom.
From a business standpoint, DraftKings Predictions also creates opportunities in areas where the company cannot run a sportsbook. While sports contracts cover certain states, financial markets reach a wider audience, growing DraftKings’ potential customer base without clashing with existing gaming licenses.
The launch happens as people argue more about whether prediction markets will support or shake up traditional sports betting. For now, DraftKings seems to be playing it safe — using familiar tech and brand awareness to test a new field, while still stressing that its sportsbook remains at the heart of its business.