DraftKings’ prediction market DKeX looks set to introduce injury protections, having self-certified “covered” NBA player prop markets with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Wednesday.
The self-certification follows Kalshi self-certifying and launching a similar product earlier this month.
ptc10142633487The contracts from DKeX could be offered as soon as Friday, according to the self-certification filing. if the CFTC does not take any action regarding the contracts before then, they can be offered to customers.
DraftKings submitted two new contracts to the CFTC Wednesday – one named ““Will [entity] record [condition] [count] [statistic] during the full game of [event] (Covered)?” and a second that gave a specific example related to Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
For the most part, these contracts work just like any other player prop event contract, paying out if the player’s stats exceed a specific number.
However, they come with an extra clause that mimics the kind of injury protection that sportsbooks have offered, effectively treating the bet as void if the player involved gets injured or is otherwise ruled out for the game during the first half.
“This Contract additionally includes a Covered Settlement provision: where [entity] plays in the first half of [event] but not in the second half, and the Payout Criterion is not satisfied, the Contract resolves to the last fair market price prior to the scheduled tipoff of [event], as set forth in Section 2.2, subject to the terms of the contract and market specifications and Chapter 13 of the DKeX Rulebook,” the contract’s terms say.
Kalshi’s injury protected markets
Kalshi self-certified its own “covered” markets on Oct. 4. It offered them as an opt-in “injury protection” feature for player props and parlays that include player props. Users can choose either a protected or an unprotected version of their parlay before placing it. If all legs of a protected parlay hit except for one which falls short due to a first-half injury, the bet can still pay out based on the legs that did hit, while paying out pre-game market value for the injury leg. Odds for protected markets are lower to compensate.
“In a standard NFL player market, once a player takes at least one snap, the market settles on the player’s actual statistics, even if the player is injured, ejected or otherwise removed from the game,” a Kalshi informational page says. “Protected NFL player markets work differently: if the player participates in the first half but not in the second half or overtime, and hasn’t reached the target, the market settles at its fair price prior to the opening kickoff.”
It is not yet clear if DraftKings is planning the same, or if it would make covered props its default. A DraftKings spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Injury protection has been a popular feature on sportsbooks, including DraftKings, which offers the feature under the name Early Exit Protected.
