DraftKings, the U.S. sports betting and gaming company, launched DKeX, its own prediction markets platform, weeks after co-founder Matt Kalish mocked sports prediction markets as too confusing for regular bettors.
The company said on June 26 that DKeX is now integrated into the DraftKings: Sports & Casino app, giving DraftKings more control over prediction market content, economics and customer experience.
- The launch deepens DraftKings' push into event contracts, a market structure where users trade contracts on real-world outcomes instead of placing traditional sportsbook bets.
DKeX uses the technology and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) license from DraftKings' acquisition of Railbird Technologies, a deal announced in October last year to support its move into prediction markets, the announcement reads.
Chasing the hype
The rollout comes after DraftKings Predictions, the company's event-contract product inside its unified sports and casino app, grew quickly.
- As DraftKings claims, the product generated about $3.4 billion in annualized consumer volume and about $11.3 billion in annualized total trading volume for the week ended June 21.
The launch comes just a few weeks after DraftKings' own co-founder Matt Kalish made the bear case against prediction markets.
In May, Kalish said there was "not a single exchange product experience for normal people" close to regulated sportsbooks and argued that sports prediction markets were "2-3 years of development away" from matching them.
- Kalish stepped down from his president role at DraftKings on March 31, 2026, but remains on the company's board.