UFC inks deal with prediction betting platform

The parent company of the UFC announced a multi-year collaboration with Polymarket on Thursday, enhancing the prediction market’s footprint in the American sports environment as it gears up for its U.S. launch.

Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi enable users to trade on the yes/no outcomes of events, including sports. Unlike traditional sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings, Kalshi and Polymarket have the ability to operate in all 50 states, including California and Texas, where sports betting is prohibited.

Polymarket is presently accessible globally, and is anticipated to officially debut in the U.S. in the next few months.

The UFC will incorporate Polymarket’s prediction market odds into live telecasts and will display market activity during bouts in a «fan prediction scoreboard.»

Ari Emanuel, CEO of UFC’s parent company, TKO, stated in a news announcement that the collaboration with Polymarket will enable fans to engage with fights in real-time. «By collaborating with Shayne and his team at Polymarket, we’re introducing a new level of fan involvement,» he expressed.

«What’s thrilling about our method is that you can actually buy and sell, you can trade, just like a stock throughout the fight,» Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan said in a CNBC interview. «And I believe that will generate new user behaviors and create an innovative way to participate where you can buy and sell as the fight progresses, the momentum shifts.»

The NHL became the first significant professional U.S. league to announce a partnership with prediction markets last month.

Regulation of prediction markets remains a fiercely debated legal matter. Several state gaming regulators have filed lawsuits against Kalshi, Polymarket’s competitor, claiming the company violates state laws by offering event contracts that resemble sports bets. Kalshi contends it is outside state jurisdiction and is instead overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal entity.

After observing the expansion of prediction markets from the sidelines for much of the year, both FanDuel and DraftKings have revealed that they will introduce prediction markets, including sports event contracts, in the upcoming months.

The UFC’s partnership comes merely a week after dubious betting activities prompted allegations of a fixed fight in a featherweight match between Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle on Nov. 1. The UFC released Dulgarian and indicated it is cooperating with the FBI as part of an investigation into the atypical betting activity.