Prediction Market War Heats Up as FanDuel Launches Regulated Crypto Betting Platform

FanDuel's Crypto News Sparks Investor Frenzy: Floki, Fartcoin, and the Rise of Apeing as the Best Crypto to Watch

CME Group and FanDuel, the U.S. online gambling arm of Flutter Entertainment Plc, announced a groundbreaking partnership to launch a prediction markets platform in December 2025, marking a significant expansion into crypto and sports betting. The new app, FanDuel Predicts, will allow users to trade event contracts on sports outcomes, cryptocurrency prices, and economic indicators, offering a regulated alternative to traditional sports betting in states where such activities remain illegal. This move positions FanDuel to directly compete with emerging platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, which have gained traction by leveraging federal derivatives regulations to bypass state gambling laws.

The platform, developed in collaboration with CME Group-the world's leading derivatives marketplace-, will feature event contracts tied to major sports events, including baseball, basketball, football, and hockey, as well as benchmarks like the S&P 500, oil prices, and key economic metrics such as GDP and CPI according to reports. For crypto enthusiasts, the app will enable bets on price movements of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major tokens, aligning with a surge in prediction market trading volumes that reached $27.9 billion between January and October 2025. FanDuel's CEO, Amy Howe, emphasized the platform's potential to attract a new demographic of users: "Our new event contracts on benchmarks, economic indicators, and now sports will appeal to a new generation of potential participants who are not active in these markets today," she stated.

The partnership addresses regulatory complexities head-on. Prediction markets are federally regulated under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), allowing FanDuel to operate in states where online sports betting is restricted, such as California and Texas. However, the company will cease offering sports-related contracts in states that later legalize traditional betting to avoid conflicts with regulators. "Protecting those relationships and our licenses in those states is certainly one of the most important things we do," Howe added according to reports. This cautious approach contrasts with the legal battles faced by platforms like Kalshi, which recently sued New York's gaming commission over jurisdictional disputes.

The crypto-native prediction market space is heating up, with rivals like Gemini Exchange and Robinhood also entering the arena. Gemini plans to launch its own prediction market contracts soon, while Robinhood reported record Q3 revenues from crypto and options trading. Meanwhile, Polymarket, a leading platform, recently secured an exclusive partnership with Yahoo Finance to provide real-time insights based on its bets. FanDuel's entry underscores a broader industry shift: prediction markets are no longer niche, but a strategic battleground for firms aiming to capture the next wave of financial innovation.

Investor confidence in the sector is growing, driven by structured presales and transparent models. For instance, AlphaPepe (ALPE), a meme-coin project, neared $400,000 in presale funding, leveraging on-chain verification and referral incentives to attract retail and institutional buyers. Similarly, Hyperion DeFi reported record net income of $6.6 million in Q3 2025, fueled by staking rewards, liquid staking tokens, and DeFi monetization strategies. These successes highlight the potential for prediction and crypto platforms to generate sustainable returns amid a recovering market.

As FanDuel Predicts prepares for its December launch, the collaboration with CME Group represents a calculated bet on the future of hybrid financial-entertainment ecosystems. With Flutter investing up to $350 million in the project over the next two years, the platform aims to redefine how fans engage with sports and markets-transforming spectators into stakeholders in real time.

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