Underdog has been offering event contracts for months via a technology deal with Crypto.com. Now, it has been approved to operate as a Futures Commission Merchant.
An Underdog-affiliated entity, listed as UDM LLC, received the green light from the National Futures Association (NFA) to operate as both an FCM and a swap firm on Jan. 9. The company is currently listed as an inactive member, but NFA approval is a key step towards launching as a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-sanctioned FCM.
The approval comes after Underdog ceased offering sports betting in December as it embraces offering prediction markets in numerous states.
Underdog could work with other DCMs
Underdog applied for NFA registration for UDM LLC in April 2025. Underdog Founder and CEO Jeremy Levine is listed as founder and CEO of UDM LLC, and other executives such as Chief Financial Officer Rishi Garg and Chief Business Officer Dustin Cooper also hold positions with the predictions platform.
FCMs do not make the markets like Designated Contract Markets do, but can provide them to end users. Crypto.com, Kalshi, Polymarket and CME Group are some leading examples of DCMs, while companies including FanDuel Predicts, PrizePicks and Robinhood work as FCMs, using contracts supplied by DCMs.
Approval as an FCM by the NFA and the CFTC would give Underdog the right to partner with other DCMs beyond its existing tech deal with Crypto.com. Its longtime daily fantasy sports rival PrizePicks, for example, has signed partnerships with both Kalshi and Polymarket.
Registration implies NFA approves of Crypto.com hookup
While FanDuel made the first announcement last August, Underdog was the first gaming operator to actually make event contracts available on its platform, doing so after signing a technology partnership with Crypto.com last summer.
The fact that it has now been vetted and approved as an FCM by the NFA, with no objection from the CFTC, suggests that the government had no issues with Underdog’s arrangement with Crypto.com, which allowed the operator to beat rivals such as PrizePicks, FanDuel and DraftKings to market.
The historically fantasy sports-focused operator initially launched sports event contracts in 16 states and offers some form of prediction markets in 29 U.S. jurisdictions as of the time of writing. One of those is Missouri, where Underdog gave up its approved sports betting license shortly before the sports wagering market launched on Dec. 1. Underdog told SBC Americas that it also intends to launch event contracts via its fantasy app in North Carolina, which was its only operational sports betting market until it pulled out last month.
Underdog’s predictions draw ire of Arizona regulators
Underdog has not been a major target for the wrath of sports betting regulators amid prediction markets’ expansion into sports, but it hasn’t escaped unscathed. Arizona moved to revoke its fantasy sports license in December as a result of its work with Crypto.com, which ignored a cease-and-desist order sent by the Arizona Department of Gaming earlier in 2025.
Underdog, which does not offer prediction markets in Arizona, told SBC Americas at that time that it would “vigorously defend” against what it described as an illegal attempt by Arizona regulators to supersede federal law.
