In short
The NHL has signed multi-year licensing offers with prediction market startups Kalshi and Polymarket.
Weekly prediction market quantity surpassed $2 billion for the primary time, with sports activities betting driving $414.7 million in quantity final week.
Main funding rounds have propelled valuations, with Kalshi not too long ago elevating $300 million and Polymarket securing $2 billion.
The Nationwide Hockey League has inked multi-year licensing agreements with prediction market startups Kalshi and Polymarket, marking the primary time a serious U.S. skilled sports activities league has licensed these platforms to make use of its logos.
Prediction platforms will now compete with established sportsbook giants like DraftKings and FanDuel within the profitable sports activities betting market. The Wall Road Journal first reported the offers forward of the official announcement.
“As prediction markets proceed to evolve at a fast tempo, partnering with the 2 market leaders, Kalshi and Polymarket, gives an amazing alternative for the broadest fan engagement through the NHL season,” stated NHL Enterprise President Keith Wachtel, in a launch. “Polymarket and Kalshi are excellent companions as this class continues to develop and broaden.”
The NHL’s endorsement lends credibility to platforms which have operated in a regulatory grey space whereas doubtlessly paving the way in which for different main leagues to comply with.
“In the long run, partnerships between licensed prediction platforms and established sportsbooks are extra doubtless than head-to-head competitors, particularly because the trade converges round transparency, liquidity effectivity, and on-chain information integrity,” Ivan Muller, CMO at crypto-based gaming and sports activities betting platform, Dexsport.io, advised Decrypt.
“Conventional sportsbooks deal with entertainment-driven, event-specific wagering with outlined odds and shopper protections; in the meantime, prediction markets function as decentralized forecasting instruments the place liquidity and knowledge effectivity decide costs,” he added. “If successfully regulated, each fashions may finally complement one another.”
The licensing agreements arrive as prediction markets hit record-breaking development, with weekly buying and selling quantity climbing previous $2 billion for the primary time.
Sports activities betting commanded the very best share at $414.7 million final week, surpassing political markets regardless of election-related exercise.
Polymarket not too long ago reclaimed market management from Kalshi after trailing for eight weeks, posting $1 billion in weekly quantity in opposition to Kalshi’s $950 million.
“The addition of licensed NHL markets may speed up the platforms’ development trajectory in This autumn, as official league partnerships convey credibility and appeal to new customers,” Jamie Elkaleh, chief advertising officer at Bitget Pockets, advised Decrypt.
Elkaleh stated each platforms are increasing “past sports activities,” tapping into real-world occasions like politics and macroeconomics, and evolving into “real-time sentiment instruments.”
Earlier this month, Kalshi raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation with backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and Coinbase, whereas Polymarket secured a $2 billion funding from NYSE-owner ICE, pushing its valuation to $9 billion.
Each platforms have capitalized on loosening federal oversight as Kalshi and Polymarket secured CFTC no-action letters this 12 months, clearing them to function with out fast federal enforcement dangers.
Customers on Myriad give Polymarket simply an 18.3% probability of asserting its token this 12 months, as Decrypt has beforehand reported the latter is planning to launch its personal native crypto token—doubtless in 2026. (Disclosure: Myriad is a product of DASTAN, Decrypt’s mother or father firm.)
Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi instantly responded to requests for remark.
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