DraftKings secures prediction market entry with Railbird acquisition
Key Takeaways
- DraftKings is moving into prediction markets with its acquisition of Railbird Technologies.
- Railbird has designated Polymarket’s QC Clearing as the entity responsible for guaranteeing and settling the event contracts traded on its exchange.
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DraftKings has acquired Railbird Technologies and will launch a prediction market spanning finance, culture, and entertainment that could rival prominent names like Polymarket.
Railbird has designated Polymarket Clearing as its official clearinghouse, meaning Polymarket’s regulated arm will guarantee and settle event contracts traded on the Railbird platform.
The acquisition comes as sports-betting firms face increasing competitive pressure. Polymarket and Kalshi have recently secured licensing deals with the National Hockey League, allowing them to use official NHL trademarks and terms like “Stanley Cup.”
Through the deals with the league, these upstarts have positioned themselves as credible competitors to established betting operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel.
Polymarket was recently greenlit by the CFTC for US operations. The platform has formed strategic partnerships with major entities, including becoming X’s official prediction market partner to integrate real-time forecasting into user discussions.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated DraftKings’ relationship with Polymarket. DraftKings acquired Railbird, which uses Polymarket’s QC Clearing as its clearing firm.
