FanDuel Predicts scales up to 50 states, offers sports in 18

• FanDuel now expands to the whole of the United States with its FanDuel Predicts platform
• The website is dedicated to offering event contracts on various outcomes, including sports
• Sports event contracts are offered in 18 states currently

After launching days before Christmas, FanDuel Predicts, the prediction market platform of the eponymous sportsbook, is now officially available across all 50 states in the United States.

What is more, the platform also supports sports betting markets in 18 states, significantly scaling up its footprint since its launch date, when it targeted Alabama, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and South Carolina only.

FanDuel goes the full distance with its prediction market platform rollout

The news came on Wednesday this week, with FanDuel Predicts confirming that it has added the remaining 13 states to its portfolio, with the company forging ahead with its prediction markets as well.

FanDuel Predicts won’t offer sports betting selections in states where it offers regulated bookmaking options under existing gaming laws, but will continue to offer prediction markets sports event contracts in places where it does not.

The latest move follows on the promise delivered by James Cooper, SVP, Flywheel and New Ventures at FanDuel in December: "We're giving our customers a new platform to engage with the world around them – whether that's the next Fed rate decision or a sports event."

Yet, FanDuel is hardly alone in deciding to pursue prediction markets. In fact, its rivals Fanatics and DraftKings have gone down the same path, even cutting off ties with the American Gaming Association over an inability to reach a compromise on prediction markets.

The AGA has repeatedly argued that those markets are illegal. A recent letter by the NCAA President, Charlie Baker, to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has similarly urged the regulator to suspend sports event contracts due to the fact that they could undermine the integrity of sports.

Overall, however, prediction markets appear poised to continue gaining ground. Various analyses have been produced to try to pinpoint their trajectory. Some have argued that prediction markets are on track to hit $1tr in value over the next few years, whereas others have downplayed the threat they pose to traditional sportsbooks, arguing that they offer slimmer margins.

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