CFTC Approves Sporttrade to Operate Prediction Market Site
Mike Goodpaster Published 04/11/2026
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has designated Sporttrade as a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) operator. The move enables Sporttrade to both list and clear its own regulated event contracts in the U.S. market, essentially enabling the company to operate as a prediction market site.
Sporttrade is planning a phased launch with broker partners. It plans to offer sports-event contracts to retail traders, brokers, and market makers. Sporttrade recently pulled out of the U.S. state-regulated online sports betting market to put its focus solely on the prediction market side of the industry. This decision also removes the potential for conflicts in certain states that are threatening sports betting licenses of sites also offering prediction markets.
Sporttrade operated its sportsbook like a financial trading site
You could make the argument that when Sporttrade was an online sports betting site, it was really a prediction market site in disguise.
"We founded Sporttrade on the principle that sports markets deserve the same high-performance structure, tight pricing, and regulatory integrity as traditional financial markets," Alexander Kane, Chief Executive Officer at Sporttrade, said in a press release.
Sporttrade's designation as a DCM and DCO will allow the company to support intermediated activity through Futures Commission Merchants (FCM). It will also be able to support direct access participants, Introducing Brokers (IBs), and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) on its exchange. Beyond that, it will also be able to clear for other DCMs via its DCO.
"Receiving our DCM and DCO registrations from the CFTC is a true full-circle moment for our company," Kane said. "By operating as both the exchange and the clearing venue, we are empowering broker partners with superior market quality while giving sophisticated traders the liquidity, transparency, and service they demand."
What the company is bringing to the table as a prediction market site
Sporttrade believes that it is going to offer the capabilities to be a game changer in the U.S. prediction market industry. With its broker-first market architecture, the company believes it is engineered to seamlessly support flow providers with dedicated institutional support, dedicated order entry, market data, drop copy ports, and robust back-office tools.
Offering direct clearing capability as a registered DCO, Sporttrade will be able to directly clear and settle transactions for self-clearing members and intermediaries, and leverage more efficient withholding on member balances while maintaining full collateralization. And because the site is powered by proprietary market structure, Sporttrade believes it will be poised to reduce broker costs by decreasing spreads on the type of products broker customers desire.
Sporttrade DCM plans to roll out its exchange and clearing capabilities in phases. This will start with select flow and liquidity providers. Sporttrade is working with a pipeline of additional brokers and institutional partners. This should enable the company to quickly expand its market presence in the coming months.
Ultimately, they believe that they will be setting the institutional standard for the sports trading ecosystem.
Sporttrade exited the U.S. sports betting market in the spring
Sporttrade opted to shutter its sports betting operations in the spring. They were doing this in preparation for the move to the prediction market industry. On May 25, Sporttrade officially shut down its online sports betting and trading platform. This was taking place across all five of its U.S. licensed states. Those states are New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia.
All sports betting activity on the platform ceased on that date. Full platform access for all users ended on June 26.
In February, the company filed applications with the CFTC to register as a DCM and DCO.