CFTC eases rules as World Cup drives $50B in wagers

Macquarie Capital projects $50 billion in wagers on the 2026 World Cup, which expands to 48 teams and 104 matches across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Operators expect heavy activity during the tournament’s five-week schedule and many plan to expand offerings such as online casino products to new customers acquired during the event.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission published a 267-page draft notice that would allow prediction exchanges to list contracts tied to sports events. The draft says the commission could find contracts that involve unlawful activity, terrorism, assassination, war or other national-security matters to be contrary to the public interest, language aimed at excluding markets tied to international violence while preserving sports products.

DraftKings reported early traction for its exchange. The company disclosed $1.3 billion in annualized consumer volume and $3.1 billion in annualized total volume for the product, with month-over-month gains of 24% and 34%. DraftKings’ share price rose from $24.70 at the market open to a high of $30.06 later in the week. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins commented, “I don’t know if the Spurs or the Knicks will win this NBA championship. But I know who’s going to win in prediction markets.”

FanDuel reduced its workforce by several hundred employees from about 5,000 full-time staff, the company confirmed, marking its third round of layoffs in under a year. FanDuel expanded its prediction-market offerings to include markets from Crypto.com alongside products from partners; CME Group owns a majority stake in FanDuel Predicts.

Live, in-game wagering produced large single-event volumes. During a major comeback by the New York Knicks, the team was listed at +2200 on the moneyline in late-game betting and operators recorded significant in-play handle. Market makers and liquidity providers also reported stresses: one trading desk posted its largest sports-related loss, while a major exchange registered a record day for volume.

A Texas judge granted a temporary injunction allowing Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby to play this season despite past gambling on a former team. The ruling prompted criticism from several Big 12 athletic directors and drew public attention to enforcement and integrity issues in college sports. Texas Tech issued a statement describing the order as consistent with its view on how to treat a student-athlete who sought help.

Prediction exchanges have attracted new fintech-oriented users and operate in more U.S. states than traditional sportsbooks alone. Industry participants expect the World Cup and the CFTC’s draft guidance on sports contracts to increase account openings and betting volume across both sportsbooks and prediction markets.