News: Underdog Launching Sports Prediction Markets In Deal With Crypto.com
Competition in sports betting via prediction markets is heating up.
Fantasy and sports betting company Underdog Sports is getting into sports event contracts via a partnership with Crypto.com. The news was reported first by CNBC.
Underdog plans to add sports event contracts to its existing app in 16 states today, starting with markets on who will win games.
Crypto.com offers prediction markets and sports event contracts as a designated contract market under the umbrella of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
From CNBC:
“We were the first to offer sports events contracts, and our technology partnership with Underdog will provide more access to CDNA’s innovative offerings,” said Travis McGhee, managing director and global head of capital markets at Crypto.com.
CDNA stands Crypto.com Derivatives North America.
The deal should be an immediate needle-mover in the prediction markets space and for Underdog, which has millions of users and is understood to be the second-biggest daily fantasy sports operator in the country behind PrizePicks. Underdog offers sports betting in North Carolina, and it plans to launch in Missouri later this year. It offers fantasy pick’em and other fantasy contests in dozens of states.
Crypto.com was the first platform to offer sports event contracts nationwide via the CFTC in late 2024; the cryptocurrency exchange recently signaled its intent to expand its sports offering through a new hire and more markets.
This marks the first time sports event contracts will be ring-fenced to certain states by design. To date, sports event contracts and indeed all prediction markets are offered nationwide. While Robinhood exited some states for a short time because of legal concerns, it now appears the platform offers sports event contracts in all 50 states.
It all means more competition for Kalshi, which is the market leader for sports betting via prediction markets in its early stages. While Crypto.com launched first, Kalshi went live in January and has scaled its product quickly. A partnership with Robinhood — similar to the one between Underdog and Crypto.com — has helped Kalshi quickly turn into a sports betting exchange with tens of millions of dollars being traded on football games.
The land grab for the future of CFTC-regulated sports event contracts is happening quickly in the second half of 2025:
Polymarket expects to be returning to the US with a sports prediction market in the near future.
FanDuel announced it is getting into prediction markets in a deal with CME Group. While sports are not in the plans for a launch later this year, that’s likely the long-term plan.
DraftKings has been kicking tires on its options, and it seems unlikely it would wait too much longer to decide how it will enter the prediction markets space.
Other sportsbooks and perhaps fantasy apps could be following Underdog into the space, not to mention the possibility of other crypto platforms.
While sports betting via prediction markets is legal nationwide as of now, its legality is being tested in court. Seven states have sent cease-and-desist letters to some cohort of Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com for allegedly offering illegal sports betting. Kalshi sued to stop three of those states from attempting to enforce those letters. Crypto.com has followed with similar lawsuits.
