CME Group is bringing futures and options to professional sports, and it’s not as weird as it sounds

The same exchange where traders hedge billions in oil, corn, and Treasury futures now wants you to place a regulated bet on whether the Chiefs win on Sunday. CME Group, the Chicago-based derivatives giant, is pushing into sports event contracts, partnering with FanDuel to create a platform that lets users trade on outcomes of professional and college sports. The joint venture, called FanDuel Predicts, was announced in November 2025 and is scheduled to launch in December 2025. CME invested $10.2 million for a controlling 51% stake in FanDuel Prediction Markets Holdings LLC, giving the exchange majority ownership of what is essentially a regulated sports betting platform dressed in derivatives clothing. How it works, and why it matters FanDuel Predicts will offer contracts classified as CFTC-regulated event derivatives, meaning they fall under the same federal oversight framework that governs commodities futures. The contracts will cover outcomes across baseball, basketball, football, and hockey at both professional and college levels. FanDuel Predicts will offer these contracts in states where legal online sports betting doesn’t exist yet. Because the platform operates under CFTC ju...