Just in time for the World Cup, Plus500 has announced in an RNS from the London Stock Exchange that they have expanded its US prediction markets business into CFTC-regulated sports event contracts, giving retail customers access to one of the fastest-growing areas of the prediction markets industry.
The US futures broker said the new sports event contracts are powered by Kalshi’s CFTC-regulated prediction markets exchange and are now available through its proprietary US trading platform. Customers can trade financial contracts based on the outcomes of major sporting events, including the NFL, NBA and MLB, using Plus500’s existing execution, clearing and risk management infrastructure.
Makes sense really, seeing as Plus500 currently sponsors the Chicago Bulls, so they are already involved in the sports markets.
The launch significantly broadens Plus500’s prediction markets offering and strengthens its position in the rapidly growing US market. The company believes sports contracts represent the highest-engagement category within prediction markets, attracting both experienced traders and newcomers looking to express views on sporting outcomes through regulated financial instruments.
Unlike traditional sports betting, the contracts are regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and are traded as exchange-listed financial products.
Chief Executive David Zruia said
“Today marks an important milestone for Plus500, and we are excited about what it represents. The launch of sports event-based contracts, CFTC-regulated financial instruments available through our proprietary futures trading platform, is the direct result of our technological capabilities and the infrastructure we have built. It advances our next-generation prediction markets offering and brings Plus500 directly to the heart of the US retail market. Spanning NFL, NBA, MLB and beyond, this is one of the most engaging and fast-moving spaces in financial markets today, and Plus500 is now fully part of it.”
Trading Platforms And Sports Betting
Plus500 is not the first futures broker to offer sports betting, back in 2019 IBKR offered simulated sports betting, Robinhood already offers sports prediction markets (not very steal from the rich and give to the poor, not sure Loxley would approve).
In the UK, there is also a large crossover between firms offering sports and financial betting, IG (which also offers forex trading in America) offered sports spread betting, and Spreadex still does. Both brokers offer financial spread betting (regulated by the FCA), which allows customers to trade financial instruments, but structured as a bet, so there is no capital gains tax due on profits.
Sports spread betting in the UK is different from the spread in the betting in the US, as in the UK, with sports spread betting, you can buy and sell the performance of a team, with either an unlimited result or a binary close between 0-100. However, with sports spread betting you are still betting against the house.
One of Kalshi’s adverts recently made a big deal about how they were not the house, which does help remove the conflict of interests between customer and broker. In the UK, betting exchanges launched in 2000 to offer better odds than bookmakers by matching buyers and sellers and giving punters the opportunity to pay bets as well as place them.
However, at the moment, prediction markets are not legal in the UK, but I suspect they will be approved by the Gambling Commission soon.
From the FTSE to the Footie, traders gonna trade…
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