Polymarket strikes prediction market deal with major US soccer league

Polymarket has inked a multi-year deal with Major League Soccer, the top-level soccer league in the US, to be the exclusive prediction market partner for the league and its main tournament, the Leagues Cup.

The MLS and Polymarket said on Monday that they will work together to create “new fan experiences” such as second-screen engagement, which typically includes data, statistics, or betting.

“As soccer’s audience continues to grow and evolve in the US, fans are looking for new ways to engage more deeply with the game,” said Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan. 

“We can surface real-time collective sentiment around key moments, matches, and season-long storylines, giving fans a more interactive, data-driven way to experience the game and engage with the world’s most popular sport,” he added. 

The companies said the partnership comes amid “sustained momentum” for the sport, as the FIFA World Cup is set to be held in North America and Mexico later this year.

The deal marks another major partnership for prediction market operators, who have inked deals to be included in other major sports leagues, in news content, and Google’s flagship search engine tool.

The MLS and Polymarket said the deal includes safeguards “designed to protect the integrity of MLS and Leagues Cup matches,” including independent monitoring of trading activities.

Volumes on the major platforms Polymarket and Kalshi have continued to hit all-time highs after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission gave its green light to prediction markets, even as many US states are fighting to restrict them.

Kalshi has pulled ahead of Polymarket for volume, seeing a record weekly tally of $2.15 billion for the week starting Jan. 12, according to Token Terminal.

Polymarket saw its best-ever week for volume at the same time, with nearly $825 million traded on its platform.

Related: Only KYC can stop insider trading on prediction markets, Messari says

Earlier this month, the CFTC issued a no-action letter to crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial, allowing the exchange to run a prediction market and signalling it wouldn’t take action against similar platforms. 

However, US states including Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee and Massachusetts have taken Kalshi and other prediction markets to court over offering sports event contracts, claiming they amount to unlicensed sports betting.

The platforms, Kalshi in particular, have pushed back, arguing the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets.

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