The FIFA World Cup is fast becoming a breakout moment for prediction markets, as fan interest in betting on match outcomes drives record trading volumes and high-profile partnerships.
Headline deal: Gibraltar-licensed ADI Predictstreet — which announced a FIFA sponsorship in April — revealed on Friday it will partner with Kalshi for the tournament’s knockout stage. The collaboration will put both brands in stadiums, on TV and across online advertising during football’s most-watched moments.
Record flows and outstanding bets: Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz — an investor in Kalshi and Robinhood — highlighted that prediction-market weekly trading volumes hit a new high of $14.5 billion last week. The value of outstanding bets also climbed to $1.6 billion, marking the third consecutive week of record highs. Those figures come from Artemis data (which tracks platforms including Myriad — owned by Dastan, the parent of Decrypt).
Kalshi pulling ahead: Artemis’ breakdown underscores Kalshi’s dominance in sports wagering: last week Kalshi accounted for 62% of total trading volume versus 28% for crypto-native Polymarket. Both firms have leaned into high-profile ad campaigns — Polymarket ran spots featuring rapper Future, while Kalshi rolled out creative spotlighting stars such as Croatia’s Luka Modrić.
Big players and new entrants: The World Cup’s buzz is drawing larger gaming operators, too. DraftKings announced the upcoming launch of DKeX, a prediction market arm, saying its DraftKings Predictions product should expand throughout next month amid heightened World Cup interest.
Rapid growth among newcomers: Smaller exchanges are exploding as well. Rothera — which Robinhood began routing wagers to in late May — saw weekly volumes surge to $805 million from just $2.1 million, according to Artemis.
Why it matters: Analysts at Bernstein have suggested the World Cup could be a “watershed moment” for the prediction-market sector, noting that platforms such as Robinhood and Coinbase are using the tournament to accelerate adoption and scale their offerings. With eyeballs glued to matches and ad dollars following, prediction markets look set to ride the tournament’s momentum well beyond the final whistle.
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