Minnesotans can now open their phones, log onto an app and put down money on a prediction that the Vikings will beat the Bears on Monday Night Football for personal profit.
No, sports betting is still not legal in the Minnesota. But sports event contracts are, and Underdog began offering single-game prediction markets in 16 states on Tuesday, including here and Wisconsin.
Numerous other prediction markets such as Kalshi and Robinhood already offered such “contracts.” On sites such as Kalshi, you can place money on your predictions on anything ranging from who will win the New York City mayoral election to who will be the top artist on Spotify this year.
But Underdog’s new offering, made in conjunction with Crypto.com, makes it the first sports-gaming platform to dip its toes into prediction markets, per CNBC. FanDuel recently announced its intentions to do the same, in partnership with CME Group.
Underdog is a fantasy and sports gaming operator with an app already used by thousands of Minnesotans to predict whether certain professional and collegiate athletes will go higher or lower on various prop lines.
Event contracts are regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission — which regulates U.S. derivatives markets such as futures and swaps — and not the American Gaming Association, meaning they don’t currently need to comply with state gambling regulations.
The contracts on Underdog are offered by Crypto.com Derivatives North America, which is already registered with the CFTC. The prices are determined by market movements rather than a bookmaker.
And yet, as of Wednesday morning, Underdog’s prediction prices closely mimicked what you could find for a team’s money line on mobile sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel, which widely operate in states in which sports gambling has been legalized.
Sites like Kalshi offer wide swaths of sports prediction markets, ranging from who’s going to win this season’s Super Bowl to who’s going to claim the 2025 Heisman Trophy.
Currently, the prediction market on Underdog’s app is limited to game results — simply who will win a specific contest, without any spread lines — in the NFL, MLB and college football. Multiple predictions cannot be parlayed together.
But for Minnesotans who would like to legally predict specific football game outcomes for potential financial gain this weekend, the option now exists.
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