FanDuel Partners with CME Group to Offer Prediction Markets

^{FanDuel is expanding beyond sports betting through a new partnership with CME Group. (Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associate Press via Alamy)}

FanDuel announced on Aug. 20 that it will partner with leading derivatives marketplace operator the CME Group to offer predictive financial markets for its customers in the United States.

The new prediction marketplace, which will be aimed at FanDuel’s extensive customer network across the USA, is expected to launch later this year.

Large Player Base Will Gain Access to Financial Contracts

Notably, FanDuel already offers regulated sports betting, so the new marketplace with CME won’t offer contracts on sporting events – an expansion that has proven controversial with regulators in many states. Instead, FanDuel and CME will allow users to buy “yes” and “no” contracts on benchmarks such as the closing prices of major stock market indexes, economic indicators, and commodity prices.

The two companies will form a joint venture that will operate a non-clearing futures commission merchant to facilitate the contracts. The new exchange will require regulatory review from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) before it begins offering contracts.

“Partnering with CME Group will unlock our ability to bring even more new and engaging products to FanDuel’s fast-growing customer base,” FanDuel Group CEO Amy Howe said in a statement. “We believe there is potentially a wide audience for trading event-based markets and we want to provide a platform that allows our customers to engage in this activity.”

CME Group is based out of Chicago and is itself traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange. It offers financial derivatives exchanges for a variety of major trading institutions including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange.

CME Gets Opportunity to Market to New Audience

But even CME sees benefits from branching out in partnership with a major gambling firm, which may appeal to a different customer base than its typical traders.

“Individual investors are increasingly sophisticated and continually pursuing new financial opportunities,” CME Group Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy said in a statement. “Together, our event-based products will appeal to the growing public interest in markets, and we will provide education to attract a new generation of potential traders not active in derivatives today.”

Predictive markets in the United States have exploded onto the scene in the past year. The rush into the market began after Kalshi won its legal battle to offer contracts on the 2024 US elections. While the CFTC was still appealing that decision at the time, it requested to voluntarily dismiss the case on May 5, 2025. 

Kalshi and other regulated prediction markets then expanded their offerings to include sporting events – a move that irked both sportsbooks and state regulators. In March 2025, the Nevada Gaming Control Board issued a cease and desist order against Kalshi, giving the company 10 days to stop offering event-based contracts on sporting events in the state.