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Sports betting: the business behind the odds
A two-company market is now racing into a new business entirely: prediction markets.
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Two companies control roughly 80% of the US market
FanDuel and DraftKings together hold approximately 80% of the national online sports betting market, with DraftKings alone at about 28-32% share, positioning it as the clear second behind FanDuel. The remaining share splits between BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, and a handful of regional and tribal operators. Notably, PENN Entertainment's ESPN BET partnership — which had captured only about 3% share — ended in December 2025 after PENN and ESPN mutually agreed to part ways.
Source: RG.org US Betting Statistics →
DraftKings and FanDuel are each spending $300 million to push into prediction markets
The two operators disclosed a combined $600 million in 2026 marketing spend specifically for prediction markets — event contracts that let users bet on outcomes like elections and weather, regulated federally by the CFTC rather than state gambling regulators. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins called it one of the fastest business lines to reach profitability in company history, with per-customer prediction-market volume already exceeding traditional sportsbook handle.
DraftKings posted a profitable quarter and reaffirmed full-year guidance
DraftKings reported Q1 2026 revenue of $1.65 billion, up 17% year-over-year, with sportsbook revenue climbing 24% to $1.10 billion. The company maintained full-year guidance of $6.5-6.9 billion in revenue. FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment beat quarterly expectations too, but trimmed full-year guidance and saw a CEO departure the same week — a reminder that even the market leader isn't immune to turbulence.
Ninth Circuit hands Nevada a win over Kalshi, deepening a circuit split
A unanimous three-judge Ninth Circuit panel ruled August 28 that Nevada can bar Kalshi from offering sports-related prediction market contracts in the state, finding Kalshi's sports event contracts are more likely sports bets than federally regulated swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. The ruling directly conflicts with a more favorable Third Circuit decision for Kalshi, deepening a circuit split that legal observers say increases the odds of Supreme Court review. This is a direct regulatory risk factor for the prediction-markets push above — the legal footing under this fast-growing category isn't yet settled.
Source: Sportico / CNN Business →
NFL expands official betting partnerships, adds Fanatics ahead of 2026 season
The NFL renewed its multi-year official sports betting partnerships with DraftKings and FanDuel ahead of the 2026 season, while adding Fanatics Betting and Gaming as a new league partner — a real signal of how deeply sports betting has become woven into the commercial ecosystem surrounding professional football. With the regular season underway from September 9, operators are entering a period of heightened competition for customers in an industry now generating an estimated tens of billions of dollars in legal seasonal wagering, with continued growth specifically in mobile and live, in-game betting.
Source: World Casino Directory →
Sportsbook Directory
DraftKings
~28-32% US market share
FanDuel
Parent: Flutter Entertainment
BetMGM
Parent: MGM Resorts
Caesars Sportsbook
Parent: Caesars Entertainment
+ your company here
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