Welcome to the InGame guide to peer to peer sports betting. Peer-to-peer sports betting has been around for more than a decade and is similar to Daily Fantasy Sports contests in that players compete against each other to win.
Contrary to DFS, peer-to-peer sports betting offers all the markets and wager types that traditional sportsbooks do.
The difference is that players buy, sell, and trade “contracts” on their predictions that pay out exactly one dollar apiece when they are graded as winners.
The following is all you need to know about P2P sports betting. After reading this page, you will have the info necessary to decide whether peer-to-peer sports betting is right for you.
What is peer-to-peer sports betting?
Peer-to-peer sports betting is a prediction-based take on traditional sportsbook action that pits players’ skills against one another (rather than against “the house”).
When you participate in P2P sports betting, you gain access to numerous markets that the app offers, plus all the wager types (moneylines, parlays, totals, point spreads, etc) that you might expect from a sportsbook app. However, just about everything – in terms of availability – depends on liquidity and interest.
A P2P sports betting app may claim to offer many sports and prediction types in their marketing material, but if the platform doesn’t have a lot of traders, it won’t matter.
This is because all traders must have a counterparty willing to accept a buy, sell, or trade price on a per-contract basis in order for a prediction to be placed.
P2P sports betting versus traditional sportsbooks
Peer-to-peer sports betting distinguishes itself in several ways from traditional sportsbooks.
The main difference is that, as explained above, P2P sports betting relies on a large player base to make its product attractive.
At a traditional sportsbook, you can simply place a wager using the line that the sportsbook app itself publishes, regardless of how other players perceive the action.
That’s not the case when it comes to peer-to-peer sports betting. You’ll be trading with (and competing against) other players and there must be a mutual, per-contract price agreement between two parties to make a trade possible.
Peer-to-peer sports betting pros
- Easy to understand pricing that can be a better value than traditional sportsbooks
- Federally regulated by the CFTC
- Available to anyone 18+ in most states
- Lots of tracking and analysis tools on apps like Kalshi
Peer-to-peer sports betting cons
- Can be more expensive than traditional sportsbooks when trading with capable players
- Not an attractive option if trying to trade in markets with a small user base
Sportsbook pros
- Can stream games in-app
- Not reliant on participation from other players/traders
- Wider variety of available sports and bet types
Sportsbook cons
- Can’t trade your bets while the event is in progress
- Sportsbooks don’t offer wagers on very many non-sports events
- Must be at least 21 years old in most states to sign up for an account
The format of pricing for P2P sports betting uses per-contract or percentage-based commission fees instead of making actual movements to sportsbook lines to generate revenue.
A legitimate “even odds” wager may appear as -110 or -115 when using a sportsbook, but will appear as a 50¢ contract on prediction and P2P sports betting apps.
Prediction apps charge their fees through fees on individual contracts or based on the total amount of each trade (which can include dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of contracts).
How to trade on a peer-to-peer exchange
Making a trade on a peer-to-peer exchange is simple, quick, and easy if you’re predicting an event outcome for a high-profile event.
As long as you already have an account, you can click or tap on the contract price or current offer that’s prominently published on a peer-to-peer exchange, and then make your trade.
If you’re buying contracts, you’ll want to purchase the exact number that, when multiplied by the contract price, equals the total amount you want to risk.
For example, a $20 risk or wager on a prediction that is currently available at 40¢ will require you to purchase a total of 50 contracts (minus any per-contract commissions or percentage-based fees).
If the prediction is correct, all 50 contracts will pay out at $1 each, for a total payout (including your original investment) of $50 minus any fees.
If you’re looking to predict a more obscure market, you’ll need to use a high-traffic platform like Kalshi that has millions of players on it. Low-traffic peer-to-peer sports betting exchanges simply don’t have the player liquidity to support most “niche” markets or bet types.
Peer-to-peer sports betting fees
You’ll want to be particularly wary of per-contract fees on prediction platforms when selecting “underdog” outcomes.
It may initially appear that you’re getting a great deal at $0.02 per contract on a 49-to-1 longshot, but if the app you’re using charges another $0.02 on each contract that’s traded, you’re paying too much.
It’s much better to use prediction apps that charge commission based on percentages of the total trade amount when choosing massive “underdog” selections.
By using the example above, 50 contracts at $0.02 with another 2 cents commission on each contract would equal a total risk of $2 to receive $50 including your initial investment.
If the platform charges 6% on the amount instead, you’ll be risking only $1.06 to receive $50 if your longshot or “impossible parlay” happens to hit
Market liquidity means everything
The more market liquidity a peer-to-peer sports betting exchange has, the more fun (and more options) a player is likely to enjoy.
You’re simply not going to find many options to trade on a P2P sports betting app if it’s restricted to a very small geographical area.
Yes, traffic may pick up enough to make a few trades possible during marquee sports events like the Super Bowl, but that’s about it.
P2P sports betting exchanges like Smarkets, Betfair, and Novig have relatively large player bases, so you’re better off sticking to those as long as they are available in your jurisdiction (assuming you’re not already using Kalshi, Polymarket, or a similar prediction app).
Sports available on P2P exchanges
The best peer-to-peer sports betting exchanges cover more than a dozen sports, including collegiate and professional football, soccer, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, ice hockey, motor sports, tennis, and MMA.
The wager or prediction types you’ll find will depend on how many players are within your state-specific or overall pool of competitors.
If the P2P exchange has a lot of player interest, you can expect wager types ranging from moneylines, point spreads, and totals all the way to parlays and player props.
Again, it all depends on how many players are competing against one another within the same app.
Platforms that are available nationwide to a younger age group (18+) will typically have more players signed up than apps that are state-restricted and have a minimum age requirement of 21.
Where is peer-to-peer sports betting legal?
The answer to where P2P sports betting is legal pretty much changes on a weekly basis.
Several popular apps (such as Novig and Fliff) have recently modified their product to accommodate solely peer-to-peer sports betting due to pressure from state regulators and lawmakers.
The result has been an onslaught of competition in the peer-to-peer sports betting marketplace that further drives players towards prediction market apps like Kalshi, Polymarket, and Robinhood.
Prediction market apps generally open their virtual doors to players 18+ throughout the country, and claim to be federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
They also argue that federal oversight nullifies any and all attempts by state regulators to impose their own regulatory framework on these platforms.
Whether these arguments hold in the long run is unknown, but for now the mass-market apps like Kalshi, Polymarket and others enjoy a privileged availability status compared to peer-to-peer sports betting exchanges like Fliff and Novig.
Banking methods on peer-to-peer sports betting apps
You’ll want to link your personal checking or savings account directly through Trustly as soon as you join a peer-to-peer sports betting app, as it’s the easiest way to receive payouts.
While you can usually deposit funds into your P2P sports betting app account using a major credit or debit card (or even an online wallet like PayPal), most apps limit withdrawals to direct ACH bank transfers only.
The Trustly linking process can be near instant if you already have an established history using the service, but can take several days to process for new players.
Cryptocurrency transactions may be available on a select number of P2P sports betting apps, but the fees associated with these transfers can be expensive, not to mention the exchange rate uncertainty that occurs during volatile periods.
Conclusion
The future of peer-to-peer sports betting is bleak when compared to the future of prediction market apps.
P2P sports betting, on its own, simply can’t compete with apps like Polymarket, Kalshi, and others that offer both sports and non-sports related predictions.
Players on Kalshi generate more than $1 billion in trades every week, and the availability (plus 18+ age requirement) of prediction market platforms mean they already have millions upon millions of customers that trade within the same pool.
As long as statewide pressure (and the corresponding costs of state regulation) are imposed on legal peer-to-peer sports betting exchanges, their potential will pale in comparison to prediction market services that are available practically “everywhere.”
When it comes to peer-to-peer sports betting, an app that includes players from all (or nearly all) 50 states is objectively superior to an app that is ring-fenced to a sole jurisdiction.
