The prediction markets news cycle is not all about lawsuits, but a lot of it is. In the last week alone:
- Novig and Crypto.com each sued Missouri
- Polymarket sued Ohio, calling the state’s sports betting rules and enforcement efforts discriminatory and unconstitutional
- Utah sued Kalshi, as well as the company’s affiliates and two Susquehanna trading firms
- Michigan’s attorney general claimed that Kalshi violated a preliminary injunction by advertising in the state
What else went on outside of court? As always, we round up some of the stories you may have missed each Friday.
CTFC tells Novig, ProphetX to pull some sports contracts
After the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published the final version of its proposed rule on sports event contracts, opening it to public comment, a CFTC spokesperson told Front Office Sports that the commission wrote to Novig and ProphetX to ask the registered exchanges to delay listing some of their sports prediction markets.
Per FOS, the CFTC has concerns that the two operators are planning to offer “micro” event contracts that might not be allowed under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), including on which player will score the first points in a basketball game. The operators self-certified those markets but not yet listed them, and the CFTC asked the companies to explain why they should be allowed under the CEA’s definition of a “swap”.
“Any derivatives contract offered by a CFTC-regulated exchange must be compliant with the Commodity Exchange Act,” a CFTC spokesperson said. “The CFTC’s rejection of ‘micro trades’ today reflect a broader commitment from Chairman [Michael] Selig and the CFTC to protect consumers from potential fraud or manipulation.”
The CFTC’s proposed rulemaking for prediction markets includes notes that some in-game prop bet-style markets might not either be in the public interest or satisfy CEA requirements, citing integrity and manipulation concerns. That kind of product is also a source of concern at the state-regulated sports betting level, and the NBA recently restricted what kind of player props and micro bets that its sportsbook partners can offer.
Ohio steps up fight with new warning to gaming licensees
Polymarket’s lawsuit was not the only prediction markets news out of Ohio this week.
Over the last 18 months, the state sent cease-and-desist letters, sued companies, and the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) announced an intention to fine Kalshi $5m for offering what it deems to be illegal sports betting without a license. The OCCC also warned its licensed sportsbooks as early as August 2025 that facilitating sports event contract trading anywhere in the U.S. could jeopardize their in-state licenses.
This week, as first reported by The Event Horizon, it doubled down. The OCCC sent a letter to all sports wagering and fantasy contest licensees and applicants to warn them that any licensee that continues to facilitate the offering of sports event contracts within the state is threatening its own OCCC license. The OCCC addressed its letter to not only its licensed sportsbook operators but also Ohio-licensed service providers like market-makers, integrity monitors like IC360, data firms, and other technology-related services.
“The continued facilitation or support of illegal gambling activity, or the affiliation with illegal operators, by a Commission licensee raises significant suitability concerns,” wrote the OCCC. “As you are aware, maintaining suitability is a continuing obligation of licensure. A licensee’s decision to provide services to, partner with or otherwise support an entity engaged in unlicensed sports gaming in Ohio reflects on the licensee’s character, integrity, honesty, and reputation. Such conduct also undermines public confidence in Ohio’s regulated sports gaming and fantasy contest markets.
The regulator demanded that licensees immediately stop any such activities and gave them until Oct. 30 to respond by complying.
Underdog owner IG Group to launch sports PMs in UK
After acquiring Underdog in a $1.3bn deal this year and supporting the formerly DFS-focused operator’s prediction markets expansion, IG Group aims to launch a UK prediction markets product as early as this year.
SBC News reported that IG Group leadership informed investors at an event on Thursday that it believes there is a “strong appetite for prediction markets in the UK.” The company intends to combine predictions, cryptocurrency, and traditional trading into one unified, in-house platform, and expects to add sports, politics, and entertainment by early 2027.
SBC News also noted that London-headquartered IG Group applied for a betting license from the UK Gambling Commission last week. It would be overseen by both the UKGC and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) if it follows through on its UK plans.
Underdog co-founder and CEO Jeremy Levine spoke at a virtual IG Group shareholder seminar earlier this month, detailing why the U.S. brand shifted from daily fantasy contests to event contracts and moved to a “super app” strategy. He stressed that Underdog leadership feels “really well set up for any outcome” that could come from the seemingly inevitable Supreme Court case about sports event contracts’ legality.
Canadian financial regulators explicitly ban sports contracts
While the legal wrangling continues in the U.S., Canadian regulators take a very different stance on sports prediction markets.
As reported by Canadian Gaming Business, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) updated its terms and conditions for its investment dealer members this week to explicitly ban the offering or promoting of sports and entertainment-related event contracts.
CIRO is the national organization that oversees investment dealers, mutual fund dealers, and trading activity in Canada. It is also the entity with the authority to approve companies to facilitate Canadian access to prediction markets for trading. To date, it approved just two companies to do that: Interactive Brokers Canada and Wealthsimple. Wealthsimple unveiled a partnership in Kalshi earlier this year and offers at least 4,000 of the firm’s event contracts, but CIRO’s rules mean it cannot offer sports, entertainment, politics, or any short-term contracts.
Similarly to the U.S. approach, Canadian law gives the right to oversee sports betting to its individual provinces. The Canadian Gaming Association praised financial regulators for drawing “a clear and sensible line: the distinction between a sports contract and a sports bet should not be reduced to semantics.”
Novig joins Kalshi as IC360 integrity partner
Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) continued its expansion into prediction markets by unveiling a partnership with Novig on Monday.
The company is a licensed independent integrity monitor in numerous states and works closely with sportsbooks, leagues, and other parties to keep tabs on betting activity. It signed a deal with Kalshi earlier in 2026 for the use of similar tools.
Now, it added Novig, which styles itself as “the leading sports prediction market,” to its prediction market partners. Like Kalshi, Novig will use IC360’s ProhiTrade “Bad Actor” technology to help identify and combat harassment directed at sports personnel and will also utilize IC360’s cross-platform self-exclusion website selfexclude.io.
Novig touted its focus on responsible trading in various public communications since pivoting away from sweepstakes gaming to focus on sports prediction markets, particularly noting that it only caters to users aged 21 or above, as opposed to many other platforms.
“We are thrilled to have a partner like Novig who values integrity and compliance as much as we do,” said IC360 co-CEO Scott Sadin. “In adopting a full suite of our services, they are not only taking active steps to safeguard their users and platform, but elevating standards across the entire ecosystem. Their commitment to critical initiatives like Centralized Self-Exclusion and the ‘Bad Actor’ program demonstrates this at the highest level.”
High Roller rolls out ROLR
Finally, new players keep entering the game. High Roller Technologies announced on Wednesday the full commercial launch of its ROLR prediction markets platform, after an initial invitation-only beta test.
The company offers online casino in some markets such as Finland but pivoted hard towards event contracts since former PointsBet and GMA Consulting leader Seth Young took over as CEO last year. ROLR is registered with the National Futures Association as an introducing broker and offers Crypto.com’s event contracts in a variety of categories, including sports.
“Our goal is to make prediction markets accessible and engaging through an intuitive customer experience, and our experience operating real-money consumer platforms provides a strong foundation for building this business,” Young said. “The commercial launch is the starting point for building lasting customer relationships and growing the ROLR platform.”
High Roller’s entry is the latest example of how companies from across the gaming landscape continue to jump into the event contracts space. Last week, iGaming supplier Hacksaw Gaming announced the launch of a B2B prediction markets platform, “a strategic expansion designed to enable operators to offer prediction market experiences through Hacksaw’s technology infrastructure, distribution network and operator ecosystem.”
