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DraftKings officially opened its new prediction market platform, DraftKings Predictions, on Friday across 38 states, including Texas and Washington, D.C.
Corey Gottlieb, DraftKings chief product officer, said the launch reflects the company’s effort to meet customers where their interests are, especially around sports and live events.
DraftKings Predictions allows users to trade event contracts tied to real-world outcomes. Instead of placing a traditional sportsbook wager, users buy and sell contracts based on whether something will or will not happen.
Sportsbooks find a backdoor into Texas
Prediction markets (PMs) follow federal commodity rules instead of state gambling laws, so they can operate in states where sports wagering is still illegal. Because they are regulated under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, some states have passed laws to ban them or filed lawsuits against operators.
States contend that PMs lack protections for consumers. While DraftKings and other major sportsbooks in the US shunned PMs at first, several are now creating their own platforms. Fanatics launched its Fanatics Predictions platform earlier this month. FanDuel is expected to start its own PM before the end of the year.
The sportsbooks have found that PMs give them what amounts to a chance to offer sports wagering in states that have refused to make the practice legal. Gottlieb said as much when announcing the launch of DraftKings Predictions.
“We will create an unparalleled customer experience, leveraging key strategic relationships like ESPN and NBCUniversal to provide an authentic, real-time product that moves at the speed of sports. Along with our operational footprint, marketing and analytics infrastructure, and advanced in-house technology, we believe we are uniquely positioned to lead this space over the long term.”
A new opportunity for Texans
With their massive populations, Texas and California are the crown jewels of PMs. If you add in Florida, around 28% of the US population lives in these three states, or more than one in four Americans. That’s why DraftKings and others are prioritizing them.
For people living in Texas, this news is the equivalent of a game-winning touchdown in overtime. Because traditional sports wagering is still tied up in political red tape in Austin, these new event contracts offer a legal way to participate in betting on sports that has never been available before.
Sports fans from Dallas to Houston, from Lubbock to San Antonio, can finally bet real money on the NFL, the NBA, or even the price of gas without waiting for Texas lawmakers to wake up.
The timing of the launch lines up nicely for Texas sports fans looking to put some skin in the game. While the Dallas Mavericks are resting after a thrilling 116 to 114 win over the Pistons last night, the San Antonio Spurs take the floor tonight against the Atlanta Hawks.
Texas users can now sign up for an account with the new app and trade contracts on game spread or alternate lines in real time. And it is not just basketball. College football fans also get their moment, with the new 12-team College Football Playoff kicking off its first-round games tonight.
