EndGame: ESPN-DraftKings Account Linking, Underdog Cuts

The U.S. sports betting world moves quickly and unpredictably in 2026. In order to properly take stock of it all, we offer InGame’s “EndGame,” an end-of-week compilation of the top storylines, some overlooked items, and all the other news bits from this past week that we found interesting.

DraftKings-ESPN linking coming soon

The partnership between DraftKings and ESPN got deeper Friday morning, when the companies announced the imminent launch of account-linking capabilities. The announcement was made at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

According to a press release, customers of DraftKings will find themselves with a more personal and streamlined experience once they link their accounts, and will have access to exclusive features. The ability to connect accounts will happen at some point before March Madness tips off.

For the tournament, DraftKings customers will be able to partake in “Bet Your Bracket,” which will allow players who created a bracket in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge access to a personalized betting experience, with wagers matched up to their bracket picks and suggestions for future bets.

“Account linking creates a level of personalization that no one else in the market can match,” Mike Morrison, vice president of ESPN Betting & Fantasy, said in the statement. “The Bet Your Bracket feature during March Madness is just the start. Soon fans will be able to seamlessly track upcoming, live and settled bets within the ESPN app and on ESPN.com, and receive bets and timely promotions based on their favorite sports, teams, players, and fantasy rosters.”

Jeff Edelstein

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Underdog cuts reflect new strategy

Underdog CEO and founder Jeremy Levine told Front Office Sports (FOS) Monday that going from “a focus on a state-by-state framework to a national prediction markets platform” renders Underdog “a different operation” that entails a smaller staff. The company on Feb. 27 laid off “at least 125 people or just more than 20 percent of the company’s workforce.” After partnering with Crypto.com to offer prediction market options last year, the company began closing its sportsbooks.

The cutback in staff included “two-thirds of its fraud operations team,” according to FOS, as prediction markets require less state-specific compliance and fraud (bonus abuse, insider trading, money laundering, etc.) prevention. Cuts to other departments included customer service, marketing, and season-long fantasy sports.

F1 finally figures out betting strategy

F1 is set to launch a new “betting strategy” with Super Group’s Betway ahead of the 2026 season, the Sports Business Journal reported Thursday. In conjunction with San Diego-based betting data startup Alt Sports Data, F1 will leverage the nearly continuous live, low-latency data from sensors on cars and around the track to offer in-race bets like selecting which of two drivers will make a pit stop first next.

The agreement between F1 and Betway is a multiyear deal that allows Betway to use the data Alt created. Additional agreements with some U.S. licensed operators are expected. The F1 season opens in Melbourne Saturday, and the first U.S. race is set for May 1-3 in Miami.

Jill R. Dorson

No limit? Yes, but sports betting, not poker

An anonymous sports bettor on Polymarket (username “majorexploiter”) in February revealed the key difference between state-licensed sportsbooks and prediction markets. After buying three contracts on Premier League soccer games totaling about $6 million in less than 72 hours last week, majorexploiter won $3.67 million.

Try doing that on a state-regulated sportsbook, and the bets would be flagged due to consumer protection laws and integrity monitoring. But Polymarket — not universally available in the U.S. — embraces “No limits. No bans. Unlike sportsbooks, we want you to win.”

According to a story in Forbes Monday, majorexploiter started “small” with a $21,000 bet on the first game and built a $1.19 million position on the second, both on Feb. 28. The customer capped it off with the headline-grabbing $4.53 million bet on the third match (March 1) less than a half-hour before kickoff with 650 individual buy orders. The third bet accounted for 45% of that market’s $10.1 million total volume.

The account was funded on Feb. 2 with $9.4 million. After winning all three bets, majorexploiter cashed out the account with roughly $13 million.

Bookmaker in London got an alert on his terminal. Someone just placed $4.5 million on Arsenal to win. One bet. One match.

He called his floor manager. In 14 years I've never seen a single position this size on a football match.

Manager pulled up the wallet. Freshly created. One… pic.twitter.com/ryQ4KUU22j
— Marlow (@marlowxbt) March 3, 2026

Caesars debuts first off-strip sportsbook

Caesars on Tuesday opened its new sportsbook at The Resort at Summerlin, marking the first time the company has expanded to the Las Vegas suburbs. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the ceremonial first bet was made by retired Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland.

The new book is nearly 6,000 square feet, with a giant video wall and a 360-degree LED video display to be installed at the renovated bar, scheduled to open in late spring. Twenty self-service betting kiosks are located inside the sportsbook and throughout the casino.

Study: Ontario helpline calls up 317%

A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal Monday reveals a dramatic increase in teenagers and young men reaching out for help with gambling problems in Ontario. Among males aged 15-24, the mean monthly rate of gambling-related contacts with ConnexOntario, the province’s mental-health helpline, rose by 317% after the privatization and expansion of online gambling in 2022. (The study included underage gamblers, 15-18, but didn’t discuss how these boys might be gaining access to the sites.)

For comparison, men aged 25-44 saw an increase of about 108% over the same period.

Researchers link this trend to the broader accessibility of iGaming and sports betting in the province in the past four years.

Odds and ends

Mike Raffensperger, FanDuel’s president of sports, is leaving the company, Sportico reported Friday. No clear reason was given, but a Sportico source cited personal reasons, and said Raffensperger sent a memo to colleagues announcing his decision this week.
According to a poll, nearly two out of three Wisconsin voters oppose legalizing online sports betting in the state. A broad-ranging poll by Marquette University of 818 Wisconsin voters conducted Feb. 11-19 and reported last week found that the opposition to sports betting apps was across the board: 61% of Republicans, 66% of Democrats, and 74% of independents surveyed disapprove of remote sports gambling.
The UFC on Thursday named bet365 its official U.S. and Canada sports betting partner under a multi-year agreement. Denver-based bet365 has been the UFC’s sports betting partner in the U.K. and Ireland since 2021.
A Las Vegas local bet $275 on a 10-game parlay at William Hill last week and went 10-for-10, cashing out $513,257. The Las Vegas Review-Journal posted the parlay ticket, with five bets on NBA game totals, four on NHL puck lines, and one on an NBA spread.