DraftKings Sees Opportunity in Crypto Event Contracts

DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), one of the two largest online sports betting operators in the US, is advancing in the sports prediction market. The company believes it can capture a new growth area through financial event contracts and, in particular, crypto derivatives.

Co-founder and CEO Jason Robins spoke at the NEXTPredict Summit in New York. Robins said the company continues to argue that sports betting is a superior product to prediction markets, but that some lessons have been learned. Brad Allen, an analyst at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, noted that interest in the non-sports market has largely come from short-term Bitcoin price markets.

Robins said timed crypto derivatives could remain live in all 50 states even if the Supreme Court rules against sports event contracts. According to Allen, short-term Bitcoin contracts make up 10% of volume on the largest US prediction market. Crypto contracts on DraftKings Predictions are currently routed through Crypto.com rather than the company's own DKeX exchange. Allen also said DraftKings could consider bringing this volume in-house.

Critics view timed crypto contracts as another form of gambling. Still, some estimates suggest that volume in prediction markets for timed digital asset derivatives rose 44-fold in the first seven months of 2026. If Bitcoin follows its four-year cycle, some forecasts say it could bottom this month and enter a new bull market. In that scenario, crypto contract volume is expected to climb rapidly in the coming months.