There’s no such thing as a quiet week in prediction markets news, but this week felt particularly breathless.
There were significant updates in the ongoing litigation battles against Kalshi. A federal judge paused Arizona’s criminal complaint against the company after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stepped in, before Kalshi sued Montana authorities after what it claimed was a broken promise.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Casino Control Commission slapped Kalshi with a $5m fine (or will try to, at least), Fanatics Markets launched sports contract Combos (also known in the sports betting world as parlays), BetMGM Chief Executive Officer Adam Greenblatt admitted that prediction market competitors are driving up the operator’s costs, and CFTC Chair Michael Selig wasgrilled over a high heat by the House Agriculture Committee.
While all this happens, the crowd continues to swell. The likes of Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics, PrizePicks, and Underdog all look like comparative veterans in the prediction markets game by now. Just in the last few days, numerous new entrants have flooded into the space.
DAZN onboards ADI Predictstreet
Sports streaming giant DAZN already offers regulated sports betting in some European countries through DAZN Bet (and has been approved to do so in Ontario, Canada). Now, it has a firm skin in the sports event contracts game.
The company announced that it is expanding its early prediction markets footprint through a partnership with ADI Predictstreet, the Abu Dhabi-based platform that was unveiled earlier in April as the official prediction markets partner of the FIFA World Cup 2026. DAZN will integrate real-time ADI Predictstreet markets into its live streams, similar to the kind of deals that have grown in prominence between sportsbooks and streaming platforms.
DAZN already has Polymarket as a prediction markets partner through a deal announced in January, and embedded that platform’s data and functionality into its streams.
Cable channel Newsmax applies to NFA
Newsmax could become one of the first news media outlets to offer its own federally regulated prediction market contracts.
The cable news channel has applied for National Futures Association (NFA) membership to become an introducing broker (IB), which would allow it to let customers purchase CFTC-regulated event contracts traded on a designated contract market (DCM) like Kalshi or Polymarket. DraftKings Predictions is one major platform that works as an IB under NFA and CFTC registration.
Media sites such as CNN, CNBC, Fox and more have struck deals to use DCMs data, but few if any have actually launched prediction markets themselves. Is that the newest development around the corner?
High Roller skips gaming, goes straight to predictions
Las Vegas-based High Roller Technologies, which offers multiple online casino brands in markets including Finland, appears to be foregoing state-regulated gaming in the U.S. and heading straight into the prediction markets world.
The company confirmed this week that it has executed its previously announced agreement to launch a prediction markets venture with Crypto.com. It plans to offer a mixture of sports, and entertainment in all 50 states. High Roller intends to run a CFTC-registered IB and establish a relationship with Crypto.com’s CFTC-registered futures commission merchant (FCM).
High Roller CEO Seth Young said the company believes that launching with prediction markets as its approach in the U.S. “gives us a strong starting position in a market with meaningful long-term potential”, and we’re confident in our ability to deliver”. It has struck a definitive strategic marketing agreement with Lines.com as a key media and distribution partner to accelerate customer acquisition and brand awareness for the venture.
FanDuel already branching out
FanDuel was the first online sportsbook company to announce a plan to launch prediction markets, unveiling an agreement with CME Group last summer and launching FanDuel Predicts in December. After just a few months live in the sector, it seems to be looking to add branches to the tree.
FanDuel has filed with the NFA to create a new FCM that will allow it to offer event contracts from a registered exchange without the involvement of CME Group. Unlike FanDuel Predicts, which works exclusively with CME Group, the apparently planned new platform would let FanDuel offer contracts from a range of DCMs such as Kalshi, Polymarket, and Crypto.com, effectively supercharging its prediction markets offering.
NBA ready to follow in other leagues’ footsteps?
Finally this week, the NBA may finally be willing to go where other leagues such as the NHL, MLB and Major League Soccer have already gone.
Ben Horney at the ever-scooping Front Office Sports reported that the league is in “active discussions” with both Kalshi and Polymarket about a prediction markets deal. Those talks have apparently gotten a lot more serious since Selig took over at the CFTC. The NBA and the NFL have so far stayed on the sidelines, seeming less willing to jump into prediction markets deals than other major U.S. pro leagues. The NHL has official partnerships with both Kalshi and Polymarket, while both MLS and MLB are exclusive with Polymarket (for now).
The respective commissioners of the NHL and MLB explained their prediction markets partnerships in part by positioning the collaborations as a way to gain some control over the types of markets offered on their leagues. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said during NBA All-Star Weekend in February that the league is looking at the “rapidly evolving” prediction markets space in the same way it assessed sports betting as that industry expanded. That may soon include partnering with leading firms, as it did with sportsbooks FanDuel and DraftKings.
