Let’s do a quick recap of the week that was. Polymarket sued Minnesota a day before New Mexico sued Kalshi, Illinois unveiled plans for a prediction markets per-wager tax, and the Department of Justice is investigating George Santos.
Just another normal working week in the world of betting trading.
But that’s far from all the news that emerged this week in the world of event contracts. Each Friday in Prediction Markets Weekly, SBC Americas shines a spotlight on some of the tidbits you might have missed.
Polymarket suspects corporate espionage
Polymarket and Kalshi are the two heavyweights (in volume of news coverage and lawsuits, at least) of the prediction markets industry, each trying to one-up the other in an attempt to be top dog. But is there more than meets the eye?
A rather sensational New York Post report claimed that Polymarket believes it is being spied on by its archrival and reportedly keeps a dossier that documents around a dozen incidents and data points that it believes show a suspicious similarity between the two firms. The Post said examples include instances of Kalshi-launched products that bear a striking resemblance to things that Polymarket already offer.
Polymarket’s Head of Marketing, Matthew Modabber, suggested that “there have been a couple too many coincidences” that imply that Kalshi is showing “bad intention in how they copy us”. Sources told the Post that it’s possible that Kalshi has moles in Polymarket’s offices. Kalshi’s spokespeople, for what it’s worth, called the claims “sad and borderline delusional”.
We can’t wait for the Netflix docuseries.
Kalshi distances itself from ‘gambling’ tag
Meanwhile, it seems that Kalshi is trying to further disassociate itself from gambling.
Sportico noted that the company has changed the language it uses in applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Previously, its filings with that agency specified that its products include “bookmaking services, namely, providing of information related to sports betting; organizing, arranging, conducting sports betting and gambling tournaments, competitions and contests.”
Kalshi used to use terms like “gambling” and “betting” in its marketing but altered that strategy as it continued to expand its sports offerings and to become embroiled in court cases. Kalshi is either the plaintiff or the defendant in numerous lawsuits across the U.S.
Its trademark filings now say that Kalshi provides “prediction market services, namely, providing of information related to event contracts, trades, sports, entertainment and current events; organizing, arranging and conducting trades and wagers of event contracts relating to sports, entertainment and current events; organizing, arranging and conducting tournaments, competitions and contests,” per Sportico.
Is it all just semantics? We really can’t say. But yes, it is.
Fanatics brings FanCash loyalty to Fanatics Markets
Fanatics has long vaunted its loyalty program and its core perks such as FanCash as its differentiators in the U.S. sports betting marketplace. Now, it’s tying together more closely its Fanatics Betting and Gaming sportsbook and casino offering with the Fanatics Markets event contracts product
The company announced on Thursday that FanCash and the Fanatics ONE loyalty scheme now extend to include Fanatics Markets. It allows customers to earn rewards on every trade they make and spend them across Fanatics ‘ various product lines on things like team merch, tickets, collectibles, in-person experiences, and on prediction markets trades, similar to the options that are already available for the company’s sportsbook and casino customers.
Like DraftKings rolling Predictions into its all-in-one app alongside sportsbook and casino, it’s a further sign of how gaming operators are looking to make the controversial prediction markets vertical an integrated component of their wider offerings across the U.S.
Allwyn CEO: PrizePicks’ predictions not cannibalizing its DFS
When European lottery giant Allwyn completed the multi-billion-dollar acquisition of PrizePicks earlier this year, it not only got one of the biggest players in the daily fantasy sports (DFS) market, but also a prediction markets platform.
The company reported this week that PrizePicks was a major reason for its net gaming revenue climbing 24% year-over-year last quarter. Allwyn CEO Robert Chvátal spoke on an earnings call about his belief that PrizePicks’ prediction markets offering will not have a negative impact on its own DFS product.
“So far, for players active in both DFS and predictions, we see no sign of cannibalization,” said the executive. “Instead, we see that the DFS activity of these players is actually increasing. Prediction markets materially expand our addressable market and player engagement, and are so far driving incremental growth without cannibalization.”
Back on the topic of integration of prediction markets into wider offerings, Chvátal noted that PrizePicks has made moves such as launching a functionality that combines team predictions with traditional fantasy player picks in one single lineup. “Prediction markets are a major opportunity to bring more ways for players to engage with the content they love,” he added. “With this, prediction markets expand PrizePicks’ addressable market in multiple ways.”
