FanDuel is moving beyond traditional sports betting through a landmark partnership with CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives marketplace, to create a new federally regulated prediction-markets platform.
The venture, which is viewed as one of the most significant crossovers between gaming and financial markets to date, is expected to debut in late 2025 via a new app called FanDuel Predicts.
CME Group’s infrastructure will power the trading mechanics, while FanDuel will handle customer experience, distribution, and retail access. The new venture represents an unprecedented bridge between derivatives markets and mainstream bettors.
The FanDuel Predicts platform will offer event-based contracts, allowing users to take positions on real-world outcomes such as where the S&P 500 will close, the price of gold, movements in crypto markets, or economic indicators like inflation.
These event-based contracts function similarly to prediction markets: users stake a fixed amount on a yes/no outcome, with potential entry points as low as $1.
Importantly, FanDuel Predicts will also offer sports-event contracts across major leagues including baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. In states where online sports betting is not yet legal, customers will be able to trade contracts on the outcome of sporting events through this federally regulated framework.
That’s because unlike FanDuel’s sportsbook, which operates under state-by-state gambling laws, this new product will be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). That federal framework allows the companies to offer markets nationwide, including in states where online sports betting remains restricted.
However, FanDuel and CME Group have also made clear that sports-event contracts will not be offered in states where licensed sports betting is already legal, and that access to sports events will adjust as state laws evolve.
When a state legalizes online sports betting, FanDuel will cease offering sports-event contracts in that state to avoid overlap with its traditional sportsbook operations.
For FanDuel and its parent company Flutter Entertainment, the move is both strategic and defensive. The U.S. sports-betting market is maturing and customer-acquisition costs are rising. Meanwhile, regulatory burdens such as high tax rates faced by legal sportsbooks in New York and similar markets, continue to squeeze margins.
Prediction markets, however, open up:
New geographies and potential nationwide reach
New customer segments like finance-curious retail users
New product verticals including hourly or daily outcome contracts
Lower tax exposure under federal derivatives rules rather than gambling tax regimes
Flutter has positioned the venture as a diversification play that doesn’t cannibalise the sportsbook business but instead adds a financial-markets-oriented counterpart.
Early details suggest FanDuel Predicts is being built to bridge the gap between a familiar betting interface and the mechanics of regulated financial contracts. So rather than feeling like a trading terminal, the app will resemble a streamlined wagering experience. That should make it accessible to everyday users who may not have experience in financial markets.
The platform is expected to offer short-duration event contracts, with some markets settling within hours. These contracts will focus primarily on financial benchmarks, commodities, and major economic indicators, allowing users to take positions on real-world outcomes such as market closes or data releases.
A key feature that differentiates FanDuel Predicts from traditional futures platforms is that all positions will be fully funded. That means users can only lose the amount they stake, because there is no leverage or margin involved.
This approach keeps the experience closer to a prediction market than a traditional futures product. It also helps to maintain clean regulatory boundaries and ensures the platform launches with a strictly financial and economic focus, while avoiding conflicts with state gambling regulators.
Despite federal oversight, prediction markets occupy a legally grey space. The CFTC has approved various types of event contracts, but the line between trading and gambling remains contested.
There are a few main reasons for this:
Some states may attempt to classify these products as gambling.
The CFTC continues to scrutinise which event types are permissible.
Political contracts remain especially sensitive and may stay off-limits.
FanDuel and CME have been clear that the initial launch will focus strictly on financial and economic outcomes, where regulatory precedent is strongest.
FanDuel’s entry into the prediction-markets space gives the sector its first major U.S. consumer brand, bringing a level of mainstream visibility and credibility that smaller platforms have not yet been able to achieve.
The move also underscores how large gaming operators increasingly see value in federally regulated, micro-trading-style products that sit at the intersection of speculation and entertainment.
The announcement of FanDuel Predicts is perhaps a reflection of a broader shift in consumer behaviour. Retail users have become more comfortable engaging with economic and market-based forecasts, blurring the traditional lines between betting, trading, and general prediction. As more consumers treat financial outcomes in the same way they might approach a sporting event, prediction markets are positioned to become a natural extension of both industries.
Platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have already helped grow the space over the past two years, but FanDuel’s scale, marketing reach, and established customer base could accelerate adoption dramatically.
With a household name now entering the market, prediction platforms are poised to move from a niche product to a mainstream offering.
With launch slated for December 2025, the FanDuel–CME platform is poised to reshape both sports-betting economics and retail access to financial speculation. If the platform resonates with users, it may accelerate the shift toward products that blur the line between betting and forecasting, particularly in states where traditional sports wagering remains unavailable.
If regulatory hurdles are navigated successfully, this could become one of the most important developments in U.S. prediction markets; a hybrid product that blends the simplicity of a bet slip with the legitimacy of a regulated derivatives market.
But it could also prompt fresh regulatory scrutiny. As more consumers engage with event contracts, state and federal authorities may need clearer guidance on what distinguishes trading from gambling and which event types should be permitted.
Ultimately, if adoption is strong and the regulatory environment remains favourable, the platform could help define the next phase of prediction markets in the United States. It will also be interesting to see if other leading brands such as DraftKings follow suit and release similar products.
