DraftKings Launches Predictions In California
DraftKings has begun offering event-contract trading to customers in California, entering a state where its traditional sportsbook remains illegal under state law.
The operator confirmed in June that its Predictions product had gone live in California, joining rivals Kalshi and Polymarket in a market voters have twice refused to open to regulated sports betting.
How DraftKings Is Working Around The Ban
California voters rejected two ballot measures on sports betting in 2022. Proposition 27 would have allowed online and mobile wagering statewide, while Proposition 26 would have permitted in-person betting on tribal land. Both failed by wide margins, leaving traditional sports betting illegal in the state.
DraftKings' Predictions platform avoids that ban by classifying its markets as event contracts rather than sports wagers.
Those contracts are regulated federally by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which allows operators to offer them nationwide regardless of individual state betting laws. Users can trade on outcomes ranging from the year's top Spotify song to the next presidential election, as well as sporting events.
Casino Games Hub
Tribal Gaming Groups Push Back
The arrangement has drawn criticism from California's tribal gaming sector, which fought hard against both 2022 propositions and depends on land-based casinos for jobs and revenue.
James Siva, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, described California's size as a “golden goose” for gaming operators and warned that prediction markets could pull business away from tribal communities.
Prediction platforms also carry a lower minimum age than traditional sports betting. Users can trade on DraftKings Predictions from age 18, compared with 21 for regulated sports wagering in states where it is legal.
What Comes Next
DraftKings' move follows a broader trend of prediction markets expanding into states that have banned or restricted sports betting, using federal derivatives law to bypass state gambling regulation.
The strategy has already drawn scrutiny from state regulators and tribal groups elsewhere in the country, and California's next move, regulatory, legal, or legislative, will be watched closely as a test case for how far the approach can stretch.
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