FanDuel partnered with CME Group to launch FanDuel Predicts on December 22. The platform went live in Alabama, Alaska, South Carolina, North Dakota and South Dakota.
James Cooper serves as FanDuel’s SVP of Flywheel and New Ventures. He’s leading the rollout strategy.
CME Group operates as a major derivatives marketplace. Lynne Fitzpatrick, the company’s President and CFO, oversees the partnership.
Why FanDuel Entered Prediction Markets
The operator wants to give customers new ways to engage beyond traditional betting. “We’re giving our customers a new platform to engage with the world around them,” Cooper said.
Users can now trade on Fed rate decisions. They can also trade sports outcomes.
The five-state launch provides testing ground for customer response. FanDuel plans to use these insights before expanding in 2026.
“CME Group prediction markets will enable a new generation of users to express their views on global benchmarks,” Fitzpatrick said. The platform connects CME’s products to FanDuel’s millions of registered users.
What FanDuel Predicts Offers
The platform lets users trade sports event contracts. It also includes financial markets like oil, gas, gold and crypto prices.
Customers buy or sell contracts by choosing yes or no on specific events. Will something happen or not? That’s the core question.
Sports contracts only appear in states without legalised online betting. But there’s a catch.
If a state legalises mobile betting later, FanDuel will stop sports trading there. Tribal lands are excluded from sports contracts entirely.
Responsible gambling tools come built-in. Users can set deposit limits and alerts. Kindbridge Behavioral Health provides self-exclusion services.
The rollout happens in phases through early 2026.
How This Changes the Prediction Market Space
DraftKings beat FanDuel to market by three days. They launched their prediction platform December 19, also using CME contracts.
Fanatics entered even earlier. Their Fanatics Markets platform launched December 3 across 24 states.
Three major operators now compete in prediction markets. That’s significant consolidation in just weeks.
FanDuel’s massive user base gives it an advantage. Millions of existing customers can access the new platform.
The operator isn’t stopping there. They expanded their Main Street Sports Group partnership December 16. New bet tracking features will appear during NBA and NHL games on FanDuel Sports Network.
The prediction markets space is evolving fast. What started as a niche product now attracts major operators with established customer bases.
