DraftKings, Crypto.com Partner for Player Markets in TX & CA
The prediction platform integrates contracts based on the individual performance of NBA and NFL athletes. The move allows the company to operate legally in states where sports betting remains prohibited, using a financial model regulated by the CFTC.
Beyond the recent Super Bowl fever, DraftKings has executed a corporate chess move that redesigns its territorial reach in the United States. The company formalized a strategic alliance with Crypto.com that now allows it to offer contracts based on specific player events, popularly known as player props, within its prediction markets vertical.
This agreement marks a before and after for the DraftKings Predictions platform. Until now, its catalog was mainly limited to general outcomes such as victory margins or total points. With the integration of Crypto.com’s technology, users can now trade on the individual performance of NFL stars and, crucially, NBA players ahead of the upcoming playoffs.
The legal void in major states
The real value of this product update lies in its geography. By operating under the federal supervision of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), DraftKings can legally offer these markets in massive states like California, Georgia, and Texas, jurisdictions that have yet to legalize traditional sports betting.
Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, the executive in charge of the division, highlighted that the collaboration significantly expands customer access to sports trading, allowing for a deeper experience than simply predicting winners and losers.
A stock market model, not a sportsbook
The mechanics behind this product differ substantially from a conventional sportsbook. Instead of betting against the house, the system works like a stock market where users buy and sell contracts. For every position taken, for example, that a player will score a certain number of points, there must be a counterparty willing to buy the opposite prediction.
To ensure liquidity in this exchange, CEO Jason Robins confirmed that the platform uses external market makers and that the company is developing its own market making infrastructure to stabilize prices.
This expansion adds to the acquisition of Railbird Exchange in October, consolidating DraftKings’ bet to dominate a sector that, although facing regulatory challenges in states like Nevada and New Jersey, presents itself as the only legal path to capture demand in the country’s largest markets.
Tags: United States, Predictive Markets, Draktkings, Crypto.com