Prediction markets are coming to sports in a big way. Heres what you need to know The Athletic
DraftKings Sportsbook is known for its daily promos and odds boosts that keep the betting experience exciting at all times. To learn more, be sure to check out our detailed Fanatics review. Most states have a strong alternative secondary offer, as well. Since the start of this policy, Fanatics has refunded more than $17 million in wagers due to players being forced out of games prematurely.
’ That’s pretty important, so we’ll go ahead and list that anyway.” So we get a huge pool of suggested markets, and then we have a dedicated team called the Markets Team that takes this big pool of suggestions and evaluates what should go from suggestion to actual listed market. “We source suggestions from a tool on the site called Market Builder, where people can suggest markets; we source them from our Discord channel; we source them from Twitter; we source them from employees. Any contract listed on a prediction market has to be certified by the CFTC first.
We check deposit requirements, minimum odds, eligible markets, expiration windows, payout format, and whether the reward comes as FanCash, tokens, profit boosts, or bonus credit. Sportsbooks are regulated state by state, so we check where each operator is licensed, where each offer applies, and whether the signup rules are clear. Are the promo terms easy to find? For the sportsbook rankings themselves, we focus on the parts that affect the actual betting experience. Since it’s not the deepest book here, and its offer is only available in four states, the appeal is how it feels to use. When prices move after a goal, injury, pitching change, or lineup update, FanDuel gives you a short path from market to ticket.
Everything from the betting menu to the promos section is clean and well-organized, and the use of imagery and bright colors when placing bets makes navigation easy for casual bettors. I was unable to place this wager with other sportsbooks, including DraftKings and FanDuel. Although it’s currently only available in 18 states, bet365’s superb online product earns it a high spot on our list. It has since grown internationally and now services customers as a premier global betting brand.
Our Fanatics Sportsbook review provides an extensive look offshore betting sites into this operator and its latest welcome offer, unlocked with Fanatics Sportsbook promo code COVERS350. It spent the better part of the next year migrating customers over to its revamped platform. Those markets are easy to find, making it quick to place wagers on the go.
Some markets go even further, offering minute-based predictions or outcomes within short intervals. Similar logic applies to other exact outcome markets, such as predicting the exact number of goals, sets, or rounds. Because of their variety and specificity, performance markets can attract more experienced bettors and help differentiate the overall sportsbook offering. However, they also require reliable data feeds and precise settlement logic, as they depend on accurate tracking of in-game statistics.
For the most up-to-date list of available markets by each bookmaker, query the markets endpoint. FanDuel is the most popular sportsbook in New York, capturing approximately 48% of the state’s online sports betting GGR. Combined with FanDuel, the two operators control about 78% of all legal sports betting revenue in the United States. DraftKings holds approximately 34% of the US sports betting market by GGR. FanDuel holds approximately 44% of the US sports betting market by gross gaming revenue (GGR) as of Q1 2026, making it the largest sportsbook operator in the country. The diversity of operators in New Jersey has made it a benchmark for consumer-friendly market structure.
For this reason, prediction markets have been careful to define themselves separately from gambling and emphasize the fact that you are putting up money against another market participant on the other side, rather than betting against “the house” as in traditional sports betting. There are still 11 states that don’t have legal sports betting, but prediction markets are federally legal because they are technically not defined as gambling. People who want to bet on sports and live in states that don’t have legal sports betting have an avenue to do so via prediction markets. “These prediction markets … are gambling — pure and simple,” Cox said. In neighboring Utah, a state where sports betting is still illegal, Republican governor Spencer Cox also spoke out against prediction markets in response to a statement from new CFTC Chairman, Mike Selig, but for different reasons.
That is especially likely if the team with nothing to play for has already confirmed that key players will sit. A team’s starting quarterback in football or a team’s leading scorer in basketball being ruled out can cause major line movement, due to the importance that those players have. Line movement reflects new information entering the sports betting market or a shift in betting pressure. One of the most important things to remember about the sports betting market, no matter the sport or event you bet on, is that sports betting odds do not move randomly. That means most sportsbooks are not setting lines independently.