Flutter Entertainment, parent corporation of FanDuel, is reshaping its FanDuel Predicts offering in a decisive move announced alongside second-quarter earnings. The company is transferring all sports and novelty event contracts on the platform to Crypto.com, leaving CME Group to handle only financial contracts. This change offers a broader selection of markets for traders while unlocking modest financial upside, according to executives speaking on the earnings call.
At the same time, Flutter’s separate market-making operation is accelerating faster than expected. That business produced $6 million in revenue during the second quarter alone. Management now projects roughly $50 million in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA contribution from market-making across the full year of 2026. The dual developments expand the catalog quickly and monetize pricing expertise in new ways.
Peter Jackson, Flutter’s outgoing chief executive, described the contract shift as more than a simple vendor swap. “I think there’s probably a slight positive for us in moving towards Crypto.com,” he told investors on the call. “This is a modest economic benefit, but the really important thing here is the step change we’re going to see in the catalog available for customers.” The larger menu of sports and novelty contracts arrives just as the NFL season approaches, giving traders more ways to express views on games, player performance, and related outcomes.
Why Crypto.com Takes Over Sports and Novelty Contracts
Crypto.com first joined FanDuel Predicts in June as a second exchange source, adding sports, entertainment, and combination contracts alongside the original CME inventory. Less than two months later, Flutter and CME coordinated a full handover of the non-financial side. CME Group remains the 51% owner of the FanDuel Predicts joint venture and will continue to supply its financial and economic contracts without interruption.
By concentrating sports and novelty contracts with Crypto.com, Flutter can introduce new event offerings at a faster pace. Executives emphasized that the expanded catalog is the primary advantage for traders seeking deeper coverage of athletic events and related novelties. Traders will continue to accessing CME’s financial markets through the same FanDuel Predicts interface, ensuring continuity for those focused on economic indicators or index outcomes.
Jackson was careful to framed the arrangement as incremental rather than competitive with Flutter’s core sportsbook operations. This is purely additive versus cannibalizing existing books of business. Prediction-market activity in states with legal sports betting still accounts for only a very low single-digit impact on FanDuel’s traditional business. Instead, the platform opens doors in regions where sports betting remains restricted, allowing Flutter to acquire traders ahead of future regulatory changes.
Market Making Emerges as a High-Margin Growth Engine
While FanDuel Predicts itself generated immaterial revenue in the second quarter and progressed more slowly than planned in the first half, the market-making side tells a different story. Flutter began testing the capability earlier this year on an unnamed major third-party platform. Three months later, the operation is scaling and delivering measurable results.
Chief Financial Officer Rob Coldrake pointed to Flutter’s long-standing sportsbook infrastructure as the key edge. “Our ambition here is to establish a leading position in this space by leveraging the pricing and risk-management and trading capabilities that we’ve developed over the years with our sportsbook,” he said. The company sees particular strength in combination markets [parlays], where multiple correlated outcomes must be priced together. As those volumes rise, Flutter believes it holds a clear advantage.
Management expects the market-making business to generate approximately $50 million in revenue this year, with a matching contribution to adjusted EBITDA. The low incremental cost of scaling the operation further improves its attractiveness. Coldrake declined to name the specific platforms on which Flutter is currently providing liquidity, yet he expressed confidence that sector-wide volumes continue to climb, supporting a multi-year opportunity.
FanDuel Predicts Builds Momentum Ahead of NFL Season
Although first-half operational progress lagged internal targets, Flutter reports that volumes on FanDuel Predicts are rising significantly from a small starting base. The company is integrating the platform more tightly with its sportsbook proposition and no longer breaks out investment spending separately. A unified “One App” experience is also under development, designed to combine sportsbook and prediction-market features before the NFL season begins.
This integration aims to leverage FanDuel’s nationwide brand name strength to drive both faster trader acquisition and marketing efficiencies. The contract migration to Crypto.com specifically positions the platform to launch player props, customizable combinations, and additional sports-focused products more quickly. With the NFL calendar approaching, the expanded catalog becomes a practical tool for capturing seasonal interest among traders seeking more granular event contracts.
Looking at international experience, Coldrake observed that betting exchanges coexist with traditional sportsbooks in markets such as the United Kingdom, Italy, and Brazil, yet exchanges typically capture only a minority share. He expects a similar pattern to hold, with FanDuel Predicts operating alongside regulated sports betting. Consequently, Flutter continues to treat prediction markets as a complementary channel that grows the overall pie rather than as a migration destination.
Leadership Transition and Forward Outlook
The earnings announcement also brought leadership news. Peter Jackson will step down as chief executive at the end of September after nearly nine years. Dan Taylor is set to succeed him on October 1. The transition occurs against a backdrop of continued investment in both the core sportsbook and the newer prediction-market initiatives.
Flutter remains cautious about owning an exchange outright, preferring partnerships that let it focus on distribution, pricing, and liquidity provision. The Crypto.com arrangement and the market-making push reflect that philosophy. By concentrating sports contracts with one specialized exchange and financial contracts with another, the company simplifies operations while expanding the range of instruments traders can access.
As the NFL season draws closer, the practical impact of the catalog expansion will become clearer. Flutter’s dual focus on product depth and market-making revenue offers a pragmatic path forward. Traders stand to benefit most immediately from the wider selection of sports and novelty markets arriving through Crypto.com, while the company’s ability to price complex combinations could improve liquidity across multiple platforms.
Time will tell. And that time begins in earnest with the kickoff of the NFL season in September.
References
- Flutter Moves All FanDuel Predicts Sports Contracts to Crypto.com as Market Making Ramps Up – DeFi Rate
- Flutter Entertainment Announces Q2 2026 Financial Results – GlobeNewswire
- Flutter Stands by Prediction Markets Despite Earnings Pressure – Covers
- FanDuel Predicts Expands Event Contract Offering Through Partnership with Crypto.com – FanDuel
- Q2 2026: Flutter reduces guidance as taxes and costs hit profit – Next.io
- Flutter Margins Hit as US Sportsbook Falters, Guidance Cut, Peter Jackson Leaves End Sept – Gambling Insider
The PolyPunter staff works tirelessly to bring you the latest and most insightful news, information, and tips on the fast-growing economic, financial, and social phenomenon that is prediction markets.
