The rumor mill is swirling that leading mobile sportsbook DraftKings could be branching out into the futures exchange prediction market by buying the yet-to-be-launched Railbird.
DraftKings Testing the Waters
In June 2025, Railbird was approved by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to operate as a Designated Contract Market (DCM). The company is now licensed under the CFTC to operate in all 50 states, selling contracts on everything from commodities to political races to sporting events.
CEO and co-founder Miles Saffran said, “Securing this designation is a pivotal milestone for Railbird. There is real demand for people to put their money behind their views, and we are excited to help shape this space from the ground up.”
When asked to comment on the negotiations, DraftKings was coy and did not give much away, only saying in a statement through a spokesperson, “DraftKings speaks to a variety of companies regarding various matters in the normal course of business, and it is our general policy not to comment on the specifics of any of those discussions.”
DraftKings had toyed with the idea of creating its own prediction market platform but suddenly withdrew its application from the CFTC in April. “DraftKings continues to monitor developments related to prediction markets as an emerging product that reflects evolving consumer engagement and warrants thoughtful consideration,” a spokesperson said.
And it is the latter that has caught the eye of one of the nation’s leading sportsbooks, as Boston-based DraftKings may have an interest in establishing a separate futures trading platform that can operate with impunity in the largest states in America, California and Texas.
Platforms Under Fire
Currently, mobile sports betting has not been approved in 11 states, including California and Texas, but futures trading is allowed to operate there. Therefore, it would be a boon for a sportsbook to be able to harvest customers from two of the biggest states in the union.
Sporting event contracts operate similarly to sportsbooks, but while the former technically sells contracts whose value can rise and fall with the score of a sporting event, the odds and lines of a wager with a sportsbook are locked in the moment the bet is made. It seems like a small distinction, and sports bettors are far more familiar with lines and odds than contracts, but it has been shown that buying contracts can be done anywhere and for large amounts.
This has piqued the interest of sportsbooks everywhere, but because state regulators are fighting them in court, taking sides with the futures platforms is a bit premature until this is legally sorted out. The state regulators believe it is a violation of their laws for a non-licensed entity to do business in their state.
However, the platform companies have won early legal victories stating they are licensed federally by the CFTC, which allows them to operate anywhere in the country without applying for state licenses to do so.
The futures platforms, headed by market leaders like Kalshi, are cannibalizing some of the wagers that would normally belong to mobile sportsbooks, and that has caused the contempt and concern of regulators and sportsbooks.
However, if the futures platforms ultimately prevail in court, then conventional wisdom states it is better to be operating in that market than on the sidelines when it does happen.
