Fanatics enters prediction markets with Crypto.com backed platform

The app went live on Wednesday in ten US states, including Alaska, Maine and Utah, and is available on both iOS and Android.

The product is built through a strategic partnership with Crypto.com’s US derivatives arm. Markets and pricing will be provided by Crypto.com Derivatives North America, a CFTC-registered exchange and clearing house, while Fanatics controls the consumer interface and distribution. Earlier this year the company acquired Paragon Global Markets, an introducing broker supervised by the CFTC and a member of the National Futures Association, to support the venture’s compliance framework.

In its launch statement, Fanatics described the service as “a fan-led prediction market platform” designed to let users “trade on the moments shaping sports, finance and culture”. The first phase focuses on event contracts referencing sports scores, team performance and macroeconomic benchmarks such as Federal Reserve decisions.

Phase two, scheduled for early 2026, is expected to expand into markets tied to crypto prices, IPOs, technology, and entertainment.

The company is pitching Fanatics Markets as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, its sportsbook business.

Crucially, the platform is launching in states where traditional online sports betting is not yet authorised, using CFTC regulation to reach users in jurisdictions such as Idaho and New Hampshire that do not permit sportsbook apps. It offers a single wallet and unified risk controls across both sportsbook and prediction products, meaning deposit limits, timeouts and self-exclusion set in one environment carry over to the other.

Competition in the sector is intensifying. Robinhood already routes clients into event contracts via its derivatives unit, and Polymarket and Kalshi have both secured multi-billion dollar valuations as institutional capital enters the space. Fanatics’ gaming chief acknowledged that the company is “competing with a different profile of operator than we are used to”, pointing explicitly to retail trading platforms that are moving toward sports-led prediction products.

The timing is sensitive. On the same day Connecticut regulators issued cease and desist orders to Crypto.com, Robinhood and Kalshi, alleging that their sports event contracts amounted to unlicensed sports betting under state law. The Department of Consumer Protection argued that none of the platforms holds a wagering licence in the state and that their products are marketed to users who may be under 21. The firms insist that their event contracts are federally regulated derivatives, not bets, setting up another jurisdictional clash.

For the crypto betting and prediction ecosystem, Fanatics Markets demonstrates that household brands with existing sports relationships are serious about event trading as a long-term product line. It also shows that regulated crypto exchanges are becoming critical wholesale providers of pricing and clearing infrastructure. The unresolved question is how far the derivative framing will insulate these products from the gambling rules that still dominate at state level.