Jeremy Bragin
DraftKings Predictions
DraftKings’ prediction app, now routing to DKeX, the exchange DraftKings built on Railbird
3.8/ 5
CoinStats scoreBest for: DraftKings customers in its 18 sports states.
- Regulator
- CFTC: offers event contracts as a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, routing to DKeX, DraftKings’ own exchange, plus CDNA and CME
- Fee on $100 at 50¢
- Up to $4.00
- Minimum deposit
- Not confirmed
- Deposit options
- Listed only after you log in
- Settlement and payout
- After the official source confirms the result. DKeX may hold proceeds for up to 12 hours.
- States
- Sports contracts in 18 states; nothing in ME or NH
Scored on our published method, from what DraftKings Predictions publishes.
Open DraftKings PredictionsHow we make money
CoinStats may earn a commission if you open an account through links on this page. No venue pays for its score: it comes from the same published method, applied to every app.
Is DraftKings Predictions legit?
Yes. DraftKings Predictions is the trading name of GUS III LLC, a subsidiary of DraftKings, the Nasdaq-listed sportsbook company. It launched on December 19, 2025, as a CFTC-registered introducing broker. In July 2026 it joined the CFTC’s list of futures commission merchants.
The main exchange belongs to DraftKings too. In October 2025 it bought Railbird, whose exchange the CFTC designated a contract market in June 2025. That exchange now trades as DKeX. Other markets list on two outside exchanges, CDNA and CME.
That settles “legit.” It covers less than most people assume. Regulation says who supervises the market. It does not settle state law. Nevada’s gaming regulator calls sports contracts wagering, and three lawsuits say the same.
Is DraftKings Predictions safe? How your money is held
Four layers touch every trade. DraftKings Predictions is the app and the broker. Wedbush Securities, an outside futures broker, processes and clears the orders. The exchange is DKeX, CDNA or CME. A registered clearinghouse settles each contract: Bitnomial Clearinghouse for DKeX, and CDNA’s and CME’s own for theirs.
Now the part most reviews skip. Your idle cash does not sit at the broker. It sits in your DraftKings account, held by a DraftKings affiliate. When you trade, the money needed moves to a customer account at DraftKings Predictions, then on to clearing. When a contract settles, the excess moves back.
DraftKings’ own terms say what that means. CFTC customer-fund rules do not cover money held by the affiliate. So that protection covers cash backing your trades, not your waiting balance.
DraftKings Predictions is not a bank either. FDIC insurance covers bank deposits, not trading balances. SIPC covers securities, and event contracts are not securities.
Signing up takes ID. DraftKings Predictions may ask for your legal name, date of birth, address and Social Security number. You must be 18, or older where the age of majority is higher. Existing DraftKings customers sign in with the same account.
Guard that login. The terms make you responsible for every trade placed through your account, authorized or not.
Is DraftKings Predictions gambling?
Legally, DraftKings says no. Its contracts are derivatives on CFTC-regulated exchanges, not wagers licensed by state gaming boards. In your wallet, the line is thin. You risk money on an outcome, and if you are wrong you lose all of it.
Some regulators reject the distinction outright. In November 2025, Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said sports event contracts are wagering, even on a CFTC-regulated exchange. It said DraftKings intends to engage in “unlawful activities related to sports event contracts.” The same day, it let DraftKings withdraw its pending Nevada sportsbook applications.
The other difference is who takes your trade. A sportsbook sets the odds and takes the wager itself. On DKeX, orders meet on a central order book. But the terms let DraftKings or its affiliates find someone to trade against you. That counterparty may pay DraftKings a commission. Affiliates may also trade against you for their own account.
Where DraftKings runs a sportsbook, it offers no sports contracts at all. None of its 18 sports states has a DraftKings sportsbook. The state fights over sports contracts are on our prediction market legal tracker.
DraftKings Predictions lawsuits and complaints
Start with the legal complaints, because they are specific. A state regulator and three private lawsuits say its sports contracts are illegal gambling. We found no ruling on the merits in any of the suits.
- Nevada’s regulator The Gaming Control Board said DraftKings intends to engage in unlawful activity with sports event contracts. It called that incompatible with taking part in Nevada gaming. It let DraftKings withdraw its pending Nevada applications. Source
- Chan v. DraftKings A proposed class action in Massachusetts federal court says sports contracts are illegal in eight states. They include California, Florida and Texas. It seeks restitution and damages. DraftKings says it will defend the case “vigorously.” Source
- A South Carolina loss-recovery suit A plaintiff sued under the state’s Statute of Anne, an old gambling-loss law. He seeks residents’ losses back, plus treble damages. The case moved to federal court in September 2026. Source
- Gordon v. DraftKings A second class action covers 15 of its 18 sports states. It cites gambling-loss and consumer laws in Massachusetts, Texas and California. On September 10, 2026, a judge joined it with Chan for pre-trial purposes. Source
Read the terms before you trade, too. Claims against DraftKings Predictions go to courts in Boston. Where the law allows, you give up a jury and must sue within one year.
How DraftKings Predictions works
Every market is a yes-or-no question with a named source for the result. Contracts trade between 1¢ and 99¢. A winning contract pays $1 and a losing one pays nothing. So the price doubles as the market’s probability.
| Cost of the contracts | $40.00 |
| Fee, at most 2¢ a contract | $2.00 |
| Total you pay | at most $42.00 |
| Paid out if the answer is Yes | $100.00, a profit of at least $58.00 |
| Paid out if the answer is No | $0.00, a loss of at most $42.00 |
You can sell before the result if someone will buy. Since mid-May 2026 you can also build combos, several contracts bundled into one position. DraftKings says more than 30% of customers had used them by late June.
Behind the app, each market lists on one of three exchanges: DKeX, CDNA or CME. Each market’s rules say which one, and the fee depends on it.
DraftKings Predictions fees, with the arithmetic
All-in, including the exchange fee: up to 2¢ a contract each way, less at the extremes. Each trade's total rounds up to the cent. On $100 at 50¢, which buys 200 contracts, that comes to up to $4.00.
DraftKings charges a flat fee per contract, not a share of the price. It includes the broker’s commission and the exchange fee. You pay it when you open a position, and again if you sell before settlement.
On CME markets the fee is 2¢ from 20¢ to 94¢, and 1¢ outside that range. On DKeX and CDNA markets it is 2¢ from 30¢ to 94¢. Below 30¢ it falls in steps, to 0.08¢ at 1¢. Above 94¢ it falls again, to 0.5¢ at 99¢.
The total is rounded up to the cent. On Kalshi, the same $100 at 50¢ costs $3.50 at its standard rate. At 90¢ the gap widens: $2.22 here, $0.70 on Kalshi.
The fee schedule lists no deposit or withdrawal charges.
Does DraftKings Predictions pay out? Withdrawal times and holds
Yes. When a market settles, each winning contract pays $1. On DKeX, the rulebook allows a holding period of up to 12 hours before proceeds are credited. A disputed result can take longer, through the exchange’s outcome review.
Settled cash then moves back to your DraftKings account, and you withdraw from there. DraftKings does not publish withdrawal times specific to Predictions.
Some money cannot fund trades at all. Deposits made by credit card or gift card, or in cash at a DraftKings retail sportsbook, are excluded. So are Golden Nugget Online Casino funds.
| Step | What happens | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Result confirmed | The market’s named source publishes the outcome | Depends on the source |
| Exchange hold | DKeX holds settlement proceeds before crediting them | Up to 12 hours |
| Back to your account | Excess cash returns from the broker to your DraftKings account | Not published |
| Withdrawal | You cash out from your DraftKings account | Not published for Predictions |
What you can trade on DraftKings Predictions
Sports come first. The menu covers the NFL, college football, the NBA, WNBA, NHL and MLB, plus golf, tennis, MMA and soccer. Beyond sports, it lists politics, economics, business, crypto, stock-market, commodity and culture markets.
What you see depends on where you stand. In 13 states only the financial markets are open. And DraftKings publishes no public price feed, so its quotes are not in our live prediction market odds.
Where DraftKings Predictions is available
DraftKings publishes a four-tier map, and your physical location decides your tier. Sports contracts are open in 18 states. They are Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho and Minnesota. The rest are Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
Everything except sports is open in 17 more states, plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico. They are Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri and New Jersey. The other eight are New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Only financial markets, such as stocks, crypto and the economy, are open in 13 states. They are Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan and Montana. The other five are Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington. Maine and New Hampshire get nothing. Tribal land is excluded everywhere.
DraftKings gives no reason state by state, but its filings show the pattern. It runs a sportsbook, online or retail, in 30 states. None of them gets sports contracts. Nevada and Montana, where it has no sportsbook, get financial markets only.
The sports states carry their own risk. Utah won its federal case against Kalshi’s sports contracts in August 2026, yet Utah is on DraftKings’ list. Minnesota’s new ban on prediction markets is on hold under a July 2026 court order.
Location matters after you buy, too. The terms say you may be unable to sell a position from a state where it is closed. Check whether DraftKings Predictions is legal in your state before you trade.
Not legal advice.
The DraftKings Predictions app and support
On the App Store, DraftKings Predictions rates 4.9 from 12,291 ratings. On Google Play it rates 4.8 from 2.67K. Both were read on September 25, 2026.
The standalone app launched on iOS and Android in December 2025, with a web version at predictions.draftkings.com. Since June 2026, Predictions also sits inside the DraftKings Sports & Casino app. One DraftKings login covers both.
Support runs through the DraftKings Help Center and support@draftkings.com. Responsible-trading tools include deposit limits, cool-offs and self-exclusion.
DraftKings Predictions pros and cons
Pros
- Registered at every layer. A CFTC-registered broker, federally regulated exchanges and registered clearinghouses handle every trade.
- DraftKings owns the exchange. DKeX, bought as Railbird in 2025, lists its contracts beside CDNA and CME markets.
- All-in fees, published. One per-contract fee covers the broker and the exchange, at most 2¢ a side.
- One DraftKings account. Existing customers use the same login, in the standalone app or the main DraftKings app.
- Combos. Bundle several contracts into one position, a feature added in May 2026.
Cons
- Sports in 18 states only. No state with a DraftKings sportsbook gets sports contracts, and 13 states get financial markets only.
- Idle cash outside CFTC rules. Money waiting in your DraftKings account is held by an affiliate, not the broker.
- Three lawsuits over sports. Class actions in Massachusetts and a South Carolina suit call its sports contracts illegal gambling.
- Costlier than Kalshi at 50¢. $4.00 in fees on $100 at 50¢, against $3.50 on Kalshi.
- Fine print favors DraftKings. Claims go to Boston courts, and the terms waive a jury and set a one-year deadline.
DraftKings Predictions vs the alternatives
DraftKings Predictions ranks eleventh of 15 apps in our ranking of prediction market apps, at 3.8 out of 5. It loses most of its points on state availability and funding options.
Kalshi runs its own exchange and clearinghouse, and court orders close its sports contracts in only three states. FanDuel Predicts is the closest match: another sportsbook brand, with sports only where FanDuel has no online sportsbook.
Our verdict: is DraftKings Predictions worth it?
DraftKings Predictions is legit. It is registered at every layer, from the broker to the clearinghouse, and DraftKings owns the main exchange. Its fee schedule is public and all-in.
The limits are specific. Sports reach only 18 states. Idle cash sits outside CFTC customer-fund rules. At 50¢ a trade costs more than on Kalshi. And three lawsuits challenge its sports contracts in the states where it offers them.
It suits DraftKings customers in those 18 states who want one login for everything. If that is you, check whether it is legal where you live first.