When it comes to the battle of the prediction markets, which player are you betting on?
Fanatics, the global sports platform, is out to prove that sportsbooks will be the emerging industry’s biggest winners. Today, Fanatics is launching a stand-alone predictions market app designed to appeal to the fans who already buy its apparel and collectibles.
It’s the first of the major sportsbooks to move into prediction markets—and almost certainly won’t be the last.
“Prediction markets are one of the top things that fans want to do these days,” says Matt King, who leads betting and gaming for Fanatics. “People want to be able to express their opinions on not just sports, but entertainment, culture, and everything under the sun.”
King, the former CEO of FanDuel, oversaw Fanatics’ expansion into sports betting in 2023 with a sportsbook that now operates online in 22 states and Washington D.C. With prediction markets, King sees a way to give people “the ability to speculate on different asset classes, different trades, all in one place.” The demographic that is core to both Fanatics and prediction markets—men in their 20s and 30s, who likely watch sports and trade crypto—are seeking “the ability to profit if they’re right,” King says.
Fanatics Markets will be available to users aged 21 and up in 10 states this afternoon, and an additional 14 by the end of the week—all places where Fanatics’ Sportsbook & Casino is currently unavailable. The trading categories featured in the app include live games, major league matchups, economic indicators, and elections. (Later releases will include crypto, pop culture, movies, and more.)
Fanatics designed the app’s user experience, partnering with Crypto.com to operate the derivatives exchange that powers the underlying market and its pricing. The Android app will go live first, followed by iOS.
Prediction markets are an adaptation of traditional futures markets, which allow traders to buy and sell contracts associated with future events. Originally a hedging tool designed to protect farmers in the event of a poor harvest, the contracts have been repackaged as an internet-era way to bet on news.
Since winning greater regulatory clarity last year, prediction markets have been growing at a breakneck pace. Weekly trading volume now extends into the billions of dollars, with a significant portion of those dollars dedicated to sports. In late October, for example, industry pioneer Kalshi posted weekly notional trading volumes of more than $1 billion in sports, making the category its most popular by far.
Numbers like those have convinced sportsbooks to get off the sidelines.
“If you look at the inherent customer base, the experience that we have in this business, it’s super exciting for us,” Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin told CNBC last month. “Customers want this product, and we want to give it to the customers.”
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