DraftKings brings prediction markets to the business of large betting operators and online casinos
Promotional image from DraftKings Predictions, the U.S. group's prediction markets platform.
The American online casino and betting group is developing its own platform for event contracts and expanding its presence in a market that is transforming the gambling business in the United States.
DraftKings, one of the leading U.S. sports betting and online gaming groups, is bolstering its presence in prediction markets, where it competes directly with platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi.
The Boston-based and Nasdaq-listed company operates through the independent group DraftKings Inc. , which also owns Golden Nugget Online Gaming, acquired in 2022, and Jackpocket, a digital lottery platform. Golden Nugget Online Gaming is part of the group's online casino business, while Golden Nugget land-based casinos were left out of that acquisition.
DraftKings began its activity in prediction markets in December 2025, when it introduced DraftKings Predictions, an application that allows you to trade contracts linked to future events, including sports results and financial indicators.
Its strategy took a new step on June 26, 2026 with the launch of DKeX, its own contract marketplace, developed from the technology and authorizations obtained through the acquisition of Railbird Technologies.
This infrastructure allows DraftKings to directly manage an essential part of its prediction offering and integrate these products into its sports betting and casino application. The company seeks to leverage its customer base and technological capacity to compete with operators specializing in this segment.
The relevance of this strategy has been reinforced by the agreement announced on October 26 by the American professional basketball league, which has expanded its collaboration with DraftKings to include prediction markets and their promotion on a national scale.
In parallel, the league has designated Kalshi and Polymarket as its preferred prediction markets, within a new collaboration framework that includes measures to protect sporting integrity and control the contracts that can be offered.
The expansion of DraftKings also poses a major shift in the U.S. regulatory map. Contracts on future events are traded under federal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, although their fit with the state's powers over sports betting remains controversial.
The issue also has repercussions in Europe. In Spain, the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling opened disciplinary proceedings against Polymarket and Kalshi in May and ordered the blocking of their pages as a precautionary measure for allegedly operating without the required authorization.
With DraftKings incorporated into this competition, prediction markets are no longer just a business of specialized platforms and become part of the commercial strategy of large traditional betting and online casino operators.
