The No. 1 sports betting operator in the U.S. views its first full football season with a prediction market product as “more of an opportunity than a challenge,” particularly amid the ongoing legal battle over sports event contracts.
Key Takeaways
- FanDuel CEO Christian Genetski said the operator is in “pretty good shape” if the Supreme Court prohibits sports event contracts.
- Genetski said prediction markets in California and Texas are “incredibly important” to FanDuel’s future.
- FanDuel’s advertising spending is down.
FanDuel CEO Christian Genetski told Scarlet Fu at Bloomberg Power Players 2026 in New York on Thursday that the company’s position is strong as numerous states battle prediction markets in the courts.
FanDuel does not offer sports event contracts through FanDuel Predicts in states where it operates a state-licensed sportsbook. Multiple states are legally challenging trading exchanges like Kalshi, leading experts to believe the Supreme Court will eventually take up the case and determine whether sports contracts can legally be offered in states that oppose them.
Genetski said he believes a decision could come by late 2027 or early 2028. Regardless, he said FanDuel’s broader growth strategy won’t be greatly affected by the ruling.
“The advantage for us is, whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court case, we're in pretty good shape,” Genetski said. “We have our core sportsbook. We're still trying to open new states. That remains a priority. That's our first order of business, but we have an opportunity now with prediction markets to reach a whole new customer base.
“Whether those are customers we eventually convert when we open those states in a sportsbook, or whether they just become loyal long-term customers of prediction markets and prediction markets sustain, we're OK either way. We will not have regretted acquiring hundreds of thousands of new users in other states if prediction markets for sports go away because we'll eventually still be trying to turn those into sports betting states.”
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Looking ahead
FanDuel Sportsbook operates in 24 U.S. states, including lucrative markets like New York, Illinois, and New Jersey.
FanDuel Predicts offers non-sports markets in many of those states, while sports event contracts are available in California and Texas, which Genetski said are “incredibly important to our future.”
Those states, two of the most populous in the country, have yet to legalize sports betting, but if and when that occurs, FanDuel will already have a significant customer base built there.
“I think everyone is moving to acquire users and try to show users that they have the best experience to offer. Ours is a little different,” Genetski said. “I think if you like FanDuel and you like our core sports experience, those are going to be the customers that gravitate more towards us.”
Staying focused
Prediction market sites have been surging in popularity since Kalshi launched political contracts in the fall of 2024. Genetski said sports make up 85% of trading volume. Prediction markets are impacting a sports betting industry that’s slowing down for the first time since PASPA was overturned in 2018.
“For us, what's interesting about it is the opportunity,” Genetski said about prediction markets.
Still, FanDuel is very concentrated on its sports betting product, which recently received multiple enhancements in time for the NFL season. Genetski said more users bet on the Patriots-Seahawks opener Wednesday than any other regular-season game.
Ad spending dips
However, the CEO admitted there is a saturation point to growth. Missouri is the only state entering this football season that wasn’t up and running at this time last year, and no other state launches are expected this fall.
Sports betting operators are spending less on advertising that product as the market matures.
“The category is a bit more established now,” Genetski said. “Prediction markets are altering that a little bit, but for core sports betting, it's going down. And if you compare it to insurance ads or cell phone ads or others, beer, it's the amount of ads you're seeing during contests for sports betting is much lower.
“I think we think very carefully about what the messaging is in our ads and how to calibrate that and get that right because our product is for people who love sports.”
