Prediction markets will be a major focal point of the upcoming NEXT Summit, one of the first major gaming industry conferences of 2026, a year where these markets have already dominated stakeholders’ attention.
- Prediction markets will be a central focus at the upcoming NEXT Summit, reflecting their growing influence across the gaming industry in 2026.
- Panels will feature executives, analysts, and media figures discussing prediction markets’ growth, legal challenges, and competitive impact on sportsbooks.
- The conference will also cover broader industry topics including AI, iGaming legalization, regulation, and offshore gambling trends.
Organized by NEXT.Io, the conference will bring together hundreds of executives from inside and outside the gaming industry. Along with major gaming suppliers and operators, the conference draws officials from professional sports leagues, venture capital groups and the national media.
The year’s event, which begins on Tuesday, will include multiple highly anticipated panels on prediction markets.
CNBC’s Contessa Brewer is set to moderate a prediction market panel with sports-focused venture capital fund manager Roger Ehrenberg and BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt. BetMGM is the nation’s largest digital gaming operator by revenue not yet to announce a prediction market.
Other panels will bring together leading Wall Street analysts and prediction market operators to talk about the future of the platforms. Another panel will focus on the media’s perspective on prediction markets.
Prediction markets have dominated gaming industry discourse through the first part of 2026. Established platforms such as Kalshi have continued to expand aggressively, while regulated sportsbook operators including DraftKings and FanDuel have announced they will spend hundreds of millions of dollars this year on their own prediction markets.
Though they are facing lawsuits in more than a dozen states, leading prediction market operators have soared to multibillion-dollar valuations. They have also dragged down the major digital gaming operators, with FanDuel and DraftKings each seeing their stock prices drop by more than 50% in the past 12 months.
Additional conference offerings
While prediction markets are set to be a focal point, the conference includes dozens of other panels and more than a hundred speakers.
The wide range of key industry topics includes panels on professional sports bettors, tribal gaming, iGaming legalization, artificial intelligence, as well as state and federal-level regulations. The conference has also released new research and findings on gaming industry trends, including the scope of the offshore gambling market.
The conference has continued to become a leading event on the gaming industry conference circuit, attracting big names in sports and media.
This year’s event features a conversation with iconic sportstalk radio host Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. Legendary fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry is also set to speak during the conference.
In previous years, ESPN’s Michael Greenberg and Stephen A. Smith have both spoken at the conference.
Representatives from the NHL, NASCAR and Formula 1 are among the professional sports league officials scheduled to speak during the conference. Three-time Super Bowl Champion Darren Woodson is also scheduled to participate on a panel.
