How to claim a prediction market bonus, step by step
Every app on this page is a regulated exchange or a broker for one, so signing up works more like opening a brokerage account than joining a sportsbook. It takes about ten minutes. The order matters: most apps only attach a promo code before your identity is verified.
- Start from the offer’s link. Use the Claim button for the app you want. Offers without a code (FanDuel Predicts, DraftKings Predictions, OG, Fanatics Markets) are attached to the link, so starting anywhere else can mean no bonus.
- Create your account. You’ll give your full legal name, email, phone number, date of birth and home address (not a P.O. box). US exchanges also ask for your Social Security number, because they report to the IRS.
- Enter the promo code when asked. Kalshi’s code is RATE and Polymarket US’s is RATE. Type it in the promo or referral field during registration. If you skip it, most apps won’t add it later.
- Opt in if the offer says so. DraftKings Predictions asks you to opt in to the promotion in the app before your first trade. Trade first and you lose it.
- Verify your identity. Expect to confirm your email and phone with a code, then upload a driver’s license or passport. Most accounts clear in minutes, and some take a day or two.
- Fund the account. Bank transfers (ACH) are usually free and take one to three business days; debit cards and Apple Pay are instant but can carry a fee. Each app’s section above lists its deposit and withdrawal costs.
- Do what unlocks the bonus. That’s a first deposit, a first trade, or a few days of small trades, depending on the app. Your trades don’t have to win. Watch the deadline: the table shows each one.
- Use the credit before it expires. Most bonuses arrive as trading credit within a few days, and some expire a week after they land. What you win with the credit is yours to withdraw; the credit itself usually isn’t.
One bonus per person, per app. Apps check for duplicate accounts at verification, and a second account can get both closed.
Types of prediction market bonuses
Sign-up offers come in a few shapes. Knowing which one you’re looking at tells you what you have to put in and what you can take out.
Deposit bonuses
Fund your account and the credit follows, with no trade required first. Polymarket US works this way: a first deposit of $10 or more gets $25 in trading credit with code RATE. It’s the simplest kind to claim.
Trade bonuses
Trade a set amount, win or lose, and the app adds credit. Kalshi’s $25 and OG’s $10 are trade bonuses. They usually come with a window to hit the amount (Kalshi gives 90 days).
Multi-day and installment bonuses
Some apps spread the bonus out to keep you trading. FanDuel Predicts pays $100 when you trade at least $1 a day for five days; DraftKings Predictions pays its $150 as credit over three weeks. The headline number is real, but you get it in pieces, and each piece may have its own expiry.
Trade matches
The app matches what you trade in your first days, up to a cap. Fanatics Markets matches trades up to $75. You get the full amount only if you trade that much yourself.
Referral bonuses
Existing users earn credit for inviting friends, and the friend often gets something too. Referral terms change often; exchanges file them with the CFTC, and we log those filings under Latest updates.
Liquidity rewards and interest
These aren’t sign-up offers, but they’re the rewards that keep paying. Kalshi and Polymarket pay traders who post limit orders close to the market price, because those orders keep spreads tight; each eligible market shows its reward pool in the app, and orders don’t have to fill to earn. Some apps also pay interest on cash you leave in your account. Rates and eligible markets change, so check the app’s rewards page before counting on them.
Prediction market bonus vs. sportsbook bonus
Prediction market apps now sit next to sportsbooks in the app store, and some come from the same companies. The bonuses look alike, but they work differently.
| Prediction market bonus | Sportsbook bonus |
|---|
| Who you trade against | Other traders, on a regulated exchange. The app earns a fee, not your losses. | The sportsbook, which sets the odds and keeps a margin. |
|---|
| Where it works | Most states, under federal (CFTC) rules; a few states dispute sports contracts. | Only states that have legalized sports betting. |
|---|
| Minimum age | 18 in most states (21 in some). | 21 in most states. |
|---|
| What you get | Trading credit: winnings are withdrawable, the credit usually isn’t. | Bonus bets: the stake isn’t returned, only the profit. |
|---|
| Getting out early | Sell your position at the market price any time before it settles. | Cash out at the book’s offer, where available. |
|---|
| What you can trade | Sports, plus elections, the economy, weather, culture and more. | Sports, and in some states a few novelty markets. |
|---|
If you already have a FanDuel or DraftKings sportsbook account, you can usually claim both that app’s sportsbook offer and its prediction market offer: they’re separate products with separate promotions.
What to check before you claim a bonus
What you have to put in
The You put in column shows the least you need to deposit or trade to unlock each offer. A deposit bonus asks for money in the account; a trade bonus asks you to use it. Check the app’s minimum deposit too: it can be higher than the trade the bonus asks for.
The deadline
Offers have two clocks: how long you have to qualify, and how long the credit lasts once it arrives. A credit that expires in seven days needs a plan for using it.
What you can withdraw
Most bonuses are trading credit. You keep what you win with it, but you can’t cash out the credit itself. The Cash it out column says which is which for every offer.
Your state
Every app excludes a few states, and sports contracts can be limited even where the app works. Use the state checker above, or read prediction market laws by state.
Taxes
What you win with bonus credit can count as taxable income, whether or not you withdraw it, and some apps send tax forms. Our free tax calculator covers crypto; for event contracts, check with a tax professional.
Code timing
Enter the code during registration. Almost no app applies a code to an account after it’s verified, and none applies one retroactively to trades you’ve already made.
Which prediction market bonus should you pick?
- New to prediction markets: Kalshi. Its app feels like a brokerage, it lists the most markets, and $25 unlocks with a $10 trade. Code RATE.
- Most credit for a small deposit: Polymarket US, $25 for a $10 deposit with code RATE, and no trade required first.
- Sports fans who’ll trade a little each day: FanDuel Predicts, $100 for $1 a day over five days.
- Already a DraftKings customer: DraftKings Predictions, $150 in credit over three weeks, in the app you already use.
- Want them all: nothing stops you. Claiming every offer on this page adds up to $385, and accounts on more than one exchange let you buy the same contract where it’s cheapest. Our trending markets board and NFL odds show every app’s price side by side.
The apps on this page are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency that oversees futures exchanges. Kalshi and Polymarket US run their own exchanges; FanDuel Predicts, OG and Fanatics Markets list contracts on a partner’s regulated exchange. Customer money sits in segregated accounts, and bonus programs are filed with the CFTC, publicly, before they start. We read those filings and log them on this page.
Some states dispute whether sports contracts fall under federal rules, and a few have gone to court. That’s why some offers exclude a state or two. Our legal tracker follows each case.
Signs an offer isn’t legitimate: an app that isn’t registered with the CFTC, a “bonus” that asks you to send crypto to a wallet first, or a code that promises a guaranteed profit. A real bonus is credit to trade with, and trading can lose.
Trade responsibly
A bonus is a way to try an app, not a reason to trade more than you meant to. Set a budget before you deposit, and treat every contract as something that can go to zero. If trading stops being fun, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER for free, confidential help.