- ▸ Recent NFA applications from DAZN, Newsmax, Taild Sports and GamerGains show how companies across multiple industries are positioning to distribute prediction market access rather than operate exchanges.
- ▸ Introducing broker registration is emerging as a key entry point, allowing companies to plug into existing exchanges and focus on distribution rather than building trading infrastructure.
- ▸ The model could expand the overall market by bringing prediction trading to new audiences through media, gaming and financial products users already engage with.
Prediction market expansion in the U.S. is unfolding not just through new exchanges, but also through companies applying to act as intermediaries. A growing group of firms spanning news media, sports streaming and gaming have recently filed for introducing broker (IB) status with the National Futures Association (NFA), a move that would allow them to route users to regulated event contracts without operating the trading infrastructure themselves.
This comes as the pipeline for new exchanges appears to have slowed. Commodity Futures Trading Commission records show no new designated contract market (DCM) approvals, the status required to operate a regulated exchange, since late January, with only one new application posted since March 3.
Recent pending IB applications, including ones from Newsmax Markets LLC, DAZN’s Sports Marketing 1 LLC, DFS operator Talid Sports, and gaming company GamerGains Labs Inc., show a wider push to embed prediction market access into existing consumer platforms.
“Distribution is king,” says Mick Bransfield, a prediction markets researcher and data analytics consultant, noting that even brokers offering access to contracts from Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated DCM, may still look to apply for or acquire their own exchange. “Too much money is at stake” not to consider it, he said, as exchange operators capture trading fees and benefit as trading activity and liquidity concentrate on leading platforms.
Ultimately, for most traders, price and liquidity matter more than where a market originates.
“Prediction market traders are generally not brand loyal,” Bransfield says. “They gravitate toward where they can make the most money.”
Why companies are pursuing introducing broker status
Rather than applying to operate exchanges or handle customer funds directly, many companies entering the prediction market space are choosing to pursue IB status, a designation that allows them to serve as the front-end access point for users.
IBs are regulated by the NFA, a self-regulatory organization authorized by the CFTC that oversees registration, compliance and conduct for brokers and intermediaries in U.S. derivatives markets.
IBs are permitted to solicit and accept customer orders but are not allowed to hold customer funds. In the traditional intermediated model, customer orders are routed through a registered futures commission merchant (FCM), which carries customer accounts, manages margin and clears transactions before they are executed on a DCM that lists the contracts.
Some fully collateralized retail market structures can also support direct clearing through a derivatives clearing organization (DCO), the entity responsible for settling trades and managing counterparty risk in the market. In those cases, intermediation may be structured differently, even though IBs still do not hold customer funds.
The IB structure can offer a lower barrier to entry. Launching a DCM requires direct CFTC approval to list contracts and operate a market, along with ongoing responsibilities related to market surveillance and rule enforcement. Operating as an FCM involves a different set of obligations, including custody of customer funds, margin management, detailed reporting tied to customer accounts, and capital requirements, with minimum capital levels starting around $1 million and rising with customer activity.
By contrast, IB registration is generally less capital-intensive and does not involve holding customer funds, allowing companies to enter the market without taking on trading risk or building exchange infrastructure. Instead, IBs can focus on distribution, acquiring users and integrating prediction markets into their products, while relying on third-party partners to handle execution, clearing and compliance.
The result is a model where prediction markets function more like backend financial infrastructure, with consumer-facing companies acting as distribution layers rather than operators. The trend also results in more volume, liquidity, and dominance for DCM operators like Kalshi, which has been in a heated customer acquisition race primarily with Polymarket. As former Kalshi head of operations and 5c(c) Capital co-founder Noah Zingler-Sternig put it, “If you want to win in prediction markets, you need to own the user.” That includes both direct customer acquisition and diversified distribution channels or “brokerage flow,” which is on the cusp of rapid expansion.
If you want to win in prediction markets, you need to own the user.@Kalshi has successfully derisked themselves from @RobinhoodApp and is continuing to focus on direct user acquisition and diversified brokerage flow.
— Noah Zingler-Sternig (@Nostroah) April 23, 2026
Onboarding @coinbase and others over the last two quarters… pic.twitter.com/j7Y1DO6fSX
DAZN builds toward embedded trading on sports streaming platform
DAZN, a global sports streaming platform featuring boxing, international soccer and other live sports, offers one of the clearest examples of how introducing broker status could translate into a consumer-facing product.
An entity called Sports Marketing 1 LLC filed for IB registration with the NFA on April 21, according to its NFA BASIC system profile. The filing lists a London address and corporate details that align with DAZN’s global operations.
The move follows DAZN’s partnership with Polymarket, announced earlier this year, which aims to bring prediction markets directly into its streaming experience. In its announcement, DAZN said it plans to integrate Polymarket data into live broadcasts and launch prediction trading on the platform, subject to regulatory approval.
DAZN has previously explored betting through DAZN Bet, a sportsbook product launched in 2022 as a separate offering from its core streaming platform. That effort followed a more traditional model, directing users to the outside betting platform (not available in the U.S.) rather than embedding wagering directly into the viewing interface.
DAZN’s IB filing suggests a shift toward a more embedded model, positioning the platform to serve as the user-facing access point. In that model, the platform would handle user interaction and distribution, while a third-party partner like Polymarket manages execution, clearing and custody.
The Polymarket announcement indicated a U.S.-first rollout, while expansion into other markets would follow where permitted by local regulations. Because Polymarket’s international platform is not available to U.S. users, any DAZN rollout in the United States would likely rely on Polymarket’s regulated U.S. exchange rather than its global one.
There are few direct precedents for this approach. Sports betting integrations have typically relied on separate apps or linked products, such as ESPN’s partnership with DraftKings or FuboTV’s now-defunct sportsbook, rather than embedding functionality directly into the viewing experience. Prediction market data integrations into live sports broadcasts remain limited. One of the few examples is Polymarket’s partnership with UFC, which includes a real-time “Fan Prediction Scoreboard” shown during broadcasts.
DAZN’s approach goes a step further, potentially allowing users to move from viewing market data to executing trades within the same interface.
Newsmax could target direct prediction market access
Newsmax, a conservative cable and digital news outlet, is taking a more direct approach than existing news media partnerships, which have largely centered on incorporating prediction market data into coverage.
An entity tied to the network, Newsmax Markets, filed an introducing broker registration with the NFA in March, signaling a potential move beyond data integration and toward direct market access.
To date, media partnerships have remained informational. Networks including Fox News, CNN and CNBC have incorporated prediction market probabilities into broadcasts and digital products, but have not enabled users to interact with the markets directly.
Reporting from InGame links the Newsmax filing to a potential integration with ForecastEx, a federally regulated prediction market operated by global brokerage firm Interactive Brokers. ForecastEx is registered with the CFTC as both a DCM and a DCO, allowing it to list and clear event contracts.
If approved, the move could make Newsmax the first U.S. broadcast news outlet to embed direct access to prediction market trading within its own platforms.
DFS and sweepstakes operators continue shift to prediction markets
Gaming platforms are emerging as another entry point into prediction markets, with companies tied to daily fantasy sports and sweepstakes gaming beginning to pursue introducing broker status as part of a broader shift already underway across the sector.
One of those entrants is Taild Sports, which filed for IB registration with the NFA on April 18. The company operates Chalkboard Fantasy Sports, a pick’em-style DFS product where users predict whether players will go over or under projected stat lines, a format that closely mirrors the player-prop contests offered by platforms like Underdog and PrizePicks. Those venues have already begun moving into prediction markets themselves, launching regulated event contract products in the wake of some state-level scrutiny of pick’em-style contests.
GamerGains Labs Inc., which filed for IB registration on April 16, reflects a similar shift from a different part of the gaming ecosystem. The company initially launched as a crypto play-and-earn platform for PC and console gamers, before expanding into sweepstakes gaming through its Gains.com social casino product, which offers slots and table games.
The sweepstakes model, like DFS pick’em contests, has operated in a regulatory gray area and has been facing increased pressure in many states, including several that have banned sweepstakes gaming operations. In response, some operators in the sector are pivoting toward prediction markets, with platforms like the sweepstakes casino MyPrize moving to integrate event contract products through regulated partners. Meanwhile, sports exchange operators like Novig and ProphetX, which have used sweepstakes-style models, are seeking DCM approvals from the CFTC to offer event contracts directly.
Other filings extend beyond gaming and media
Other recent IB filings include entities tied to MoonPay, a crypto payments provider, as well as prediction-focused outlets like OmenX, which is testing a leveraged event trading product, and Valence, which offers a cross-exchange interface for trading contracts across platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.
IB registration offers a separate entry point into the market, allowing companies to plug into existing exchanges instead of building and operating their own. That structure also creates an opportunity to reach new users by embedding prediction trading into products they already use.
