Sports prediction markets offer a new alternative to sports betting that is legally available to sports fans in all 50 states. While it differs from betting at sportsbooks in some key ways, many prediction market exchanges offer similar sports markets like game winners, team futures, season-long player awards and even some player props and parlays.
If you’re looking for more information on how sports event contracts differ from sports betting, or how to get started, visit our sports trading guide.
How Sports Prediction Markets Work
The range of sports event contracts you can trade on is similar to what you’ll find at traditional sportsbooks but there are some major differences in how the markets work.
Prediction market contracts are simple yes/no contracts on whether a specific future event will happen or not. Contracts are priced between 1¢ and 99¢ and each contract pays out
Rather than betting against the house, you trade against other traders on prediction markets. Rather than setting lines and taking a vig, these peer-to-peer exchanges make money by charging small trading fees on transactions. Prices are set by the market and reflect the current implied odds of an event happening or not.
If “Yes” on the Broncos to win the Super Bowl is trading at 24¢, that means the market gives them a 24% chance of winning the Big Game. If you purchase contracts at that price, you can trade out of your position (sell the contracts) at any point, so you don’t have to wait until the event or game concludes.
Sports You Can Trade On
You can find markets on the following sports but the exact contracts you’ll find depends on the platform.
Some of the most popular sports to trade on include:
- NFL
- College football
- NBA
- College basketball
- Golf
