EndGame: News About FanDuel, Prediction Markets

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.

More job cuts at FanDuel

The economic news for traditional sportsbook operators has not been stellar of late, in the face of prediction market competition and other concerns, and that hit home for several hundred unfortunate FanDuel employees last week.

Front Office Sports reported Monday that the national sportsbook operator carried out its third round of layoffs in less than a year. Information supplied by sources for the article said software engineering, customer service, and business development were among FanDuel departments affected by the personnel cuts.

A FanDuel spokesperson confirmed the layoffs without providing a specific number affected at the company, which has some 5,000 employees. “FanDuel implemented organizational changes to ensure the company remains agile, focused, and well-positioned to capitalize on what lies ahead, and these changes affect a number of roles across the business,” the spokesperson said in a statement supplied to Front Office Sports.

The cuts follow recent ones in March and November. The rise of prediction markets — a sector which FanDuel entered last year — has been cited as a key factor along with increased adoption of artificial intelligence and general uncertainty in the current economic climate.

FanDuel's layoffs impacted a few hundred people, sources tell @FOS.

Employees received a meeting invite the night before; when they joined the next day, an HR rep was on the call.

“As soon as I saw the HR person, I was like ‘oh god, here we go.’” https://t.co/h6nADGGgOm
— Ben Horney (@BenHorney) June 8, 2026

NCPG survey cites prediction market risks

The American public is becoming increasingly concerned about the financial risks involved with prediction markets and the need for consumer safeguards around them, according to a May survey of adults by The Harris Poll.

Add us as a preferred source on Google Get our content prioritized in your search results

The survey, conducted for the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and released Tuesday, found that 45% of Americans liken prediction markets to gambling rather than investing, a percentage that was up from 30% in a similar Harris survey in March. Of the respondents, 84% said prediction market platforms should be treated similarly to gambling when it comes to consumer protections, with tools provided such as deposit limits and cooling-off periods.

“Regardless of how these products are classified legally, Americans clearly believe that if financial risk and repeated participation are involved, meaningful consumer protections should follow,” said NCPG Executive Director Heather L. Maurer.

The survey of 2,045 adults 18 and older also said 85% of them believe people can develop unhealthy or addictive behavior related to prediction market platforms, but only 56% of them would know where to go for help if they or someone they know encountered such a problem.

Kalshi urges CFTC action vs. Polymarket

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been a good friend to Kalshi of late, but Kalshi’s had no luck getting the CFTC to take on a request regarding its rival, Polymarket.

Sportico reported Thursday that Kalshi co-founder and COO Luana Lopes Lara sent a letter to the CFTC April 30 asking it to crack down on Polymarket for failing to block U.S. citizens from accessing its unregistered international exchange. The CFTC has taken no action on the request, however, and did not acknowledge the issue in its set of proposed new rules released this week.

Kalshi has been critical of Polymarket’s international exchange for not just allowing access by Americans but offering trading on controversial markets related to death and destruction, which Kalshi says it avoids.

“The Commission should … commit to sustained enforcement against offshore platforms that solicit or tolerate U.S. participation,” Lopes Lara urged in her letter. “Offshore venues typically purport to exclude U.S. persons through terms-of-service disclaimers and IP-based geoblocks, but those measures are circumvented daily … and platform operators have economic incentive to maintain the formal appearance of exclusion while tolerating, and at times encouraging, U.S. participation.”

Odds and ends

CNBC reported Monday that EDGE Markets has new products to help traders move funds more easily into prediction market wallets. A real-time payments system known as EDGE Connect will reduce the time it takes for individuals to transfer funds from bank accounts, and EDGE Pro will serve a similar function for institutional market makers. The company also announced a $29.2 million Series A funding round.
DraftKings Monday announced a new live betting feature known as Moonshot for MLB games. Bettors set a targeted payout, and a multiplier is used for different outcomes based on the in-game bets and action. A Moonshot bet settles as a win if the selected target payout is reached before an out is recorded.
Momentum Group announced Monday that its Play971 brand has become the first licensed operator providing online sports betting in the United Arab Emirates. The launch preceded the start of the FIFA World Cup, which is expected to draw heavy wagering. Prior to the Play971 introduction, Momentum already had a foothold in the UAE, where it operates the lottery.