DraftKings Predictions: how it works, where it's legal and what it costs

Contents

What is DraftKings Predictions?#

DraftKings Predictions is a prediction market inside DraftKings's apps. Each market is a Yes or No question, such as whether a team wins or Bitcoin ends a day above a price, and each contract settles at $1 if the answer goes your way and $0 if not. You can sell before the event ends at the current price. DraftKings launched it on 19 December 2025 as a standalone app, starting with sports and finance contracts from CME Group.

It also sits in the DraftKings Sports & Casino app, which, per DraftKings Network, brings sportsbook, Predictions, casino and lottery together "through a single account". Prices show as a percentage chance by default; DraftKings's help center says American odds are no longer offered for prediction markets.

Yes, it is real money. DraftKings's third-quarter results say more than 1.6 million customers "have engaged with Predictions year-to-date". The same release says Predictions revenue will be "immaterial" in 2026 because new-customer promotions offset most of it, and guides to $650 million to $750 million in 2027.

How is DraftKings Predictions legal?#

DraftKings Predictions operates under federal CFTC oversight; the legality of sports contracts remains disputed under state law. DraftKings's position is that event contracts are federally regulated derivatives, so it offers them without the state gaming license its sportsbook holds. These steps put it under the CFTC:

DraftKings's sources disagree on one point. Its App Store listing still calls GUS III LLC "a CFTC-registered Introducing Broker", while the 10-Q filed on 6 November 2026 and the footer of predictions.draftkings.com call it a futures commission merchant. The 10-Q is newer.

Federal rules don't end the argument. The same 10-Q lists class actions filed from July 2026 claiming DraftKings's sports contracts are illegal under state law in states such as California, Florida and Texas, and a suit filed by the Seminole Tribe of Florida on 9 October 2026 arguing that Predictions is prohibited gambling in Florida that only the Tribe may offer under its compact. DraftKings says it will defend them. Is Kalshi legal covers the same fight for Kalshi. This page is information, not legal advice.

Which states have DraftKings Predictions?#

DraftKings's availability page sorts states into four groups on a map. As we read it on 11 November 2026:

The page also allows Washington, DC and US territories, and excludes tribal land. In June DraftKings said sports contracts were live in 18 states; the map showed 17 when we read it. Trading requires US residency and physical presence in an eligible jurisdiction; market-specific restrictions also apply. We read the colors off DraftKings's map, so check it before you trade.

The Predictions terms of use, last updated 4 August 2026, require you to be a US resident and at least 18, or the age of majority where it is higher, and say availability can be limited by both the state you live in and the state you are in. It is not available outside the US.

What can you trade on DraftKings Predictions?#

Sports first. The availability page lists the NFL, college football, the NBA, the NHL and college basketball, next to stock market, Bitcoin and Ethereum contracts. The App Store listing adds pop culture and commodities, and DraftKings Network publishes 2028 presidential election prices from the app.

Each market comes from one of three exchanges named in the terms: DKeX, Crypto.com's exchange (whose deal with DraftKings in February 2026 added player contracts for the NFL and NBA) or CME Group. Per its rules and settlements page, a market's rules sit behind "View Rules" in the trade slip, and the fee disclosure says the market source is listed there too. The exchange decides both the settlement rules and the fee you pay. The list of prediction markets shows which other apps use the same exchanges. For specific leagues, see NFL prediction markets and NBA prediction markets.

What does DraftKings Predictions charge?#

A fee per contract, every time you buy or sell. From DraftKings's fee disclosure, read on 11 November 2026:

The total for an order is rounded up to the next whole cent when you buy and down when you sell. For CME markets the disclosure says the figure includes all broker and exchange fees.

Here is what that means for 100 contracts on a DKeX market, held to the end, next to the same order as a Kalshi taker under Kalshi's fee schedule:

The flat 2 cents hurts most on favorites: at $0.90 it takes a fifth of your $10 profit before you sell or settle. Sell early and you pay it again. DKeX charges no settlement fee, per its fee filing with the CFTC. Kalshi fees and lowest-fee prediction markets compare more platforms, and prediction market odds and payouts shows how to turn a price into a payout.

Does DraftKings Predictions have parlays?#

Yes, in the form of Combos. DraftKings added combinations in mid-May 2026, and by late June "more than 30% of customers" had used them, per its DKeX launch release. A Combo joins several contracts into one position that pays only if every leg wins, and why we say Combo explains how its pricing differs from a sportsbook parlay.

On DKeX, Combos are "typically matched through the RFQ mechanism", per DKeX's fee filing: market makers quote a price for your exact set of legs. The same filing raised the fee the maker pays on each Combo trade to 0.07 × P × (1 − P) per contract from 2 November 2026, double the earlier rate and at most $0.0175 a contract. We found no DraftKings page that states a maximum number of legs. Prediction market combos compares how Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood and others price and settle theirs.

Do you trade against DraftKings?#

You can. DraftKings's terms say market makers "may enter" trades "on the other side of your" trades, and that "affiliates of DraftKings Predictions may act as a Market Maker". They also say DraftKings or its affiliates may trade "for its own account" in ways that "may, at times, be adverse to your interests".

The 10-Q names the affiliate. DraftKings's prediction market revenue includes money "generated by its market maker, GUS CAP LLC, from providing liquidity and trading on DKeX and third-party exchanges", and DraftKings holds trading positions from that market making. So the order book is open to other traders, and one of the firms quoting in it belongs to DraftKings. Your counterparty on any one trade may be another customer, an outside market maker or DraftKings's own.

How is DraftKings Predictions different from DraftKings Sportsbook?#

Sportsbook features don't carry over. DraftKings's help center says Early Exit, which refunds a ticket when a player is ruled out, "does not apply to Predictions trades". The two don't overlap on sports. We checked the 10-Q's list of states where DraftKings runs its online sportsbook against the Predictions map: in every one of them, Predictions offers no sports contracts, so the same app shows the sportsbook for sports there. Prediction markets vs sportsbooks explains the difference in pricing and limits in general.

DraftKings Predictions vs Kalshi and Polymarket#

Kalshi and Polymarket US run their order books themselves, and Kalshi takes traders from many countries; the list of prediction markets has their sources and market counts. Michigan's gaming regulator says Polymarket US agreed to stop new sports contracts there and close the rest by 25 November 2026. DraftKings's pull is the app, the account and the sports catalog its customers already use. What Kalshi is explains the exchange, Polymarket fees works through Polymarket US's curve, and the best prediction market apps covers the rest of the US field.

DraftKings Predictions is not available outside the US. Totalis, which we build, trades Hyperliquid's HIP-4 markets and lets you combine 2 to 5 sports, crypto and finance outcomes in one Combo, quoted by market makers; its limits and fees are 1.5% of the stake on entry and 1% of profit on a win, and the trading guide shows how a Combo is quoted and cashed out. Totalis is not available to US persons and takes an invite code; you can browse Totalis markets without one.

FAQ#

Is DraftKings Predictions the same as DraftKings Pick6?#

No. DraftKings describes Pick6 as "a peer-to-peer fantasy sports variant" where you compete against other players' picks for a share of prizes. Predictions trades exchange contracts whose price moves until the event ends.

Is there a DraftKings Predictions promo?#

DraftKings runs new-customer offers paid in Predictions Dollars, which its promotion terms, as archived on 14 July 2026, describe as "non-withdrawable" credits that "expire one (1) year from the date of issuance". That offer was limited to states where sports markets were live, so check the current terms in the app before you count on one.