Fanatics will use Crypto.com prediction market
Fanatics is in early talks with Crypto.com on for a prediction market collaboration, signaling a potential pivot into regulated event contracts.
Why is the Fanatics prediction market tie-up back on the table?
Fanatics is a sports-focused retail and technology company that also runs collectibles, including trading cards. It has raised over $700 million from backers such as SoftBank, Silver Lake, Fidelity, and Clearlake Capital. The company was valued at $31 billion as of December 2022.
Prediction markets have become a hot niche in the U.S., with sports betting drawing investors and bettors.
The field is dominated by fast-growing players like Kalshi and Polymarket, which have attracted rising institutional interest. That said, newcomers are entering to capture momentum and secure early footholds.
However, discussions between Fanatics and Crypto.com are still at an early stage, and plans could change depending on negotiations.
What changed in U.S. regulation for event contracts?
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined Polymarket in 2022 over unregistered contracts and pushed the platform away from U.S. shores.
Yet the agency has flipped its stance in recent months under President Donald Trump’s administration, clarifying how federally supervised prediction markets can operate.
Back in September, the CFTC issued a no-action letter approving Polymarket’s acquisition of QCX. The move effectively cleared a path for Polymarket to resume operations in the United States and signaled a friendlier regulatory climate for event-driven markets.
Against this backdrop, Kalshi—embroiled in several legal battles across U.S. states over whether its contracts are gambling or derivatives—has secured multiple courtroom wins that reinforced its federal positioning.
Moreover, clearer rules are drawing more established brands into the sector.
How would a Crypto.com partnership shape Fanatics’ strategy?
Crypto.com has recently forayed into providing regulated event contracts and has offered its infrastructure to consumer-facing platforms such as Underdog and Hollywood.com to launch dedicated prediction markets.
A Crypto.com partnership could accelerate Fanatics’ entry by leveraging exchange-grade plumbing and compliance.
Fanatics already operates a sportsbook via its subsidiary Fanatics Betting and Gaming. Company leadership had previously said it had no plans to enter prediction markets due to regulatory uncertainty.
However, since those comments were made earlier this year, the regulatory landscape has shifted meaningfully.
Moreover, industry perspectives, including Crypto.com research, point to expanding use cases for prediction markets as data-rich, event-driven instruments that sit between sports, finance, and entertainment.
Who else is racing into prediction markets?
With regulation clearer, big brands are scaling up. For instance, in recent weeks Polymarket has announced high-profile deals with the UFC, which is integrating prediction features into live broadcasts, and Yahoo Finance, which is showcasing Polymarket odds across its platform.
Meanwhile, incumbents continue to innovate to retain share.
If talks progress, the fanatics prediction market initiative would mark a strategic pivot for a leading sports-commerce brand at the intersection of regulated event contracts and U.S. sports betting.
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