June 26 · 27 minEpisode 22: Kalshi Did A Deal With FIFA... Or Did It?
Daniel O’Boyle of InGame and I did an “emergency” podcast today to deal with all of the news that dropped on Friday morning. That includes a deal between Kalshi and FIFA…or rather Kalshi and ADI Predictstreet, apparently?
Kalshi and ADI Predictstreet Announce Strategic Partnership to Expand Global Prediction Market Footprint during World Cup™ and Beyond (press release): ADI Predictstreet, the Official Prediction Market Partner of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, today announced a strategic branding and product partnership with Kalshi, the world’s leading prediction market exchange. This collaboration will expand prediction markets globally, providing billions of fans with new ways to engage with the world’s biggest sporting event.
Heading into the knockout stage, Kalshi will be co-branded alongside ADI Predictstreet in stadium, TV, and online placements. Longer term, Kalshi will provide market expansion to ADI Predictstreet’s platform.
In the first two weeks of World Cup™ play, Kalshi has seen explosive growth. Last week, it experienced record daily volume of $1 billion-plus. The company has inked a number of World Cup™ focused partnerships including with the Argentine Football Association (AFA,) Men in Blazers, Luka Modric, and the Croatian Football Federation. It currently controls approximately 90% of the regulated U.S. prediction market share, according to Bank of America.
Dimitrios Psarrakis, Chief Executive Officer of ADI Predictstreet, said: “This is a transformational moment for our industry. Kalshi has built one of the most recognized prediction market platforms in the world, together we have an extraordinary opportunity to leverage ADI Chain’s capabilities to introduce prediction markets to millions of new users through football’s biggest stage. Our ambition extends far beyond the World Cup™. We are building the foundations for a truly global prediction market ecosystem powered by world-class technology.”
Tarek Mansour, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kalshi, said: “The World Cup™ is the largest stage for any brand. We see this as a massive opportunity to increase global awareness and fan engagement.”
• A New York Times story earlier in the morning said: “Kalshi is expected to announce on Friday that it has become an official partner of FIFA, thanks to a branding and product deal with the World Cup’s existing prediction market partner, the little-known platform ADI Predictstreet.”
• Kalshi posted and then deleted that the deal was with FIFA:https://x.com/DustinGouker/status/2070522854945472693?s=20
• More context:https://x.com/BenHorney/status/2070516886798844385?s=20
• Update on Kalshi volume and revenue.___
Polymarket US Is Self-Certifying ’Next Team’ Markets, Including High School Recruits Signing With Colleges:
Update: Polymarket tells me that it is withdrawing the self-certification for NCAA “next team” markets.
Polymarket US is self-certifying player movement markets for a number of major team sports. That would seem to indicate that Major League Baseball — which is a partner of Polymarket — could be OK with that type of market. And Polymarket could also allow markets on high school players committing to college programs, per new filings.
___
DraftKings Launches Proprietary Exchange to Bolster Differentiated Predictions Experience (press release): DraftKings Inc. today announced the launch of its proprietary prediction markets exchange, DKeX, with integration into the unified DraftKings: Sports & Casino app, further advancing the DraftKings Predictions experience. The launch positions the Company to innovate more rapidly through greater ownership over content depth, operating economics, and the end-to-end customer experience. DKeX marks the next phase in DraftKings’ prediction markets evolution, strengthening its ability to deliver differentiated sports experiences across the country alongside its leading sportsbook.
“DraftKings is at its best when building innovative platforms that bring together technology, customer focus, and world-class execution to shape the future of sports engagement,” said Jason Robins, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of DraftKings. “The momentum we’ve seen on DraftKings Predictions in recent months reflects the significant progress we’ve made in delivering a more seamless and connected experience for sports fans. DKeX provides a vertically integrated foundation for DraftKings Predictions, strengthening our prediction markets content and capabilities, giving us greater control over the technology that powers those offerings, and enabling us to move faster as we continue enhancing our unified app.”
The launch of DKeX comes as DraftKings Predictions continues rapid growth, with approximately $3.4 billion in annualized consumer volume and approximately $11.3 billion in annualized total trading volume for the week ended June 21. The Company expects continued growth throughout July, driven by ongoing enhancements to the platform, growing adoption of new event contracts and features such as combinations, and heightened interest surrounding the World Cup. Since launching in mid-May, more than 30% of customers have used combinations, which allow multiple individual contracts to be bundled into a single position, highlighting strong demand for a customizable, sports-first prediction markets experience.
“The launch of DKeX and its integration into our unified app is a major step forward in delivering a best-in-class customer experience in sports nationwide,” said Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, DraftKings Senior Vice President and General Manager of Prediction Markets. “The pace of development across Predictions has been substantial, from expanding our event contract offerings to introducing key features like combos, which customers have quickly embraced. DKeX is the latest milestone in that progression and creates new opportunities to further expand the offering ahead of some of the biggest moments on the sports calendar.”
As part of DraftKings’ all-in-one platform strategy, DraftKings Predictions continues to evolve within the unified app. The DraftKings Sports experience brings sports betting and prediction market trading together with sportsbook offerings and/or sports event contracts available based on customer location. Recent enhancements include Predictions Sports Combos, expanded pre-game and in-play stats, dedicated hubs for major events such as the World Cup, and an always-on Live tab that surfaces real-time sporting events, giving customers more opportunities to engage with key moments as they unfold. DraftKings also enhanced its Responsible Engagement tools through My Budget and Controls, an in-app destination for managing deposit limits and personalized activity alerts.
DraftKings Predictions has also expanded with additional event contract offerings, including MLB player and futures contracts, No Runs First Inning (NRFI) baseball, broader NBA and NHL selections, and international sports.
The DraftKings Sports experience is available nationally, including sports event contracts in 18 states. The Company applies its Responsible Engagement principles across its prediction markets offering, supporting informed participation through tools and resources, including the DraftKings Responsible Trading Center.
DKeX leverages the technology and CFTC license from DraftKings’ acquisition of Railbird Technologies.
___
Meta + prediction markets
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nexteventhorizon.substack.com
