Fanatics CEO warns $7 billion ad war looms as Kalshi, Polymarket join sports betting fight
Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin said U.S. sports betting operators spent about $3 billion on advertising in 2025. He warned that marketing outlays could hit $7 billion as prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket enter the customer acquisition battle against established sportsbooks. The new entrants are adding pressure to an already competitive landscape dominated by major operators. The warning frames event contracts as a new front in the costly U.S. gambling advertising arms race.
Prediction markets have just become a fully funded participant in sports betting's most expensive battlefield. Kalshi and Polymarket will burn cash to build brand recognition against incumbents with established customer bases and multi-billion-dollar ad budgets. Rubin's $7 billion figure implies that event-contract platforms must match or exceed the marketing intensity of DraftKings and FanDuel without the sportsbook revenue stream that currently funds it.
That forces Kalshi and Polymarket toward extreme acquisition tactics like Novig's Sydney Sweeney equity deal or Polymarket's own $15 million annual LeBron James arrangement. Fanatics itself lacks a direct CFTC license and depends on Crypto.com's infrastructure, yet is pledging brand firepower anyway. The first prediction market to miss its funded-account target this NFL season will find rivals have already locked the most efficient advertising channels and celebrity partnerships, raising the cost of catching up.