Prediction markets are dialing up a big-spending advertising blitz featuring celebrities as sports bettors and traders turn their attention to the NFL.
- Prediction markets have more than doubled their active ads since early August as operators roll out celebrity-heavy campaigns for the NFL season.
- Operators are likely spending big bucks, with DraftKings and FanDuel in particular planning hundreds of millions in prediction market-related investment this year.
- Beyond customer acquisition, the blitz may also be aimed at establishing prediction markets as a mainstream product.
According to Aldrin Research, Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated prediction markets had more than 2,400 active ads as of Wednesday afternoon, more than double the 970 running Aug. 10.
Those ads range from the subtle to the star-studded. In the latter camp would be Polymarket partnering with the likes of LeBron James, Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, and a handful of other celebrities for its latest marketing campaign.
Welcome to Polymarket HQ.pic.twitter.com/P0c43ImVIP
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) September 8, 2026
The leader among CFTC-regulated prediction markets, Kalshi, has already dabbled in advertising using the likes of Timothée Chalamet. It has also revealed its share of athlete partners, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bryson DeChambeau, and Lionel Messi.
Novig then fired a shot across the bow of the industry Wednesday, with an ad starring Sydney Sweeney. The sports-focused exchange has made it clear that’s what it’s about: sports.
"Just you, your takes, and sports," Sweeney promises.
All of the above may just be scratching the surface of the massive marketing effort underway to draw the eyes of potential traders to prediction markets.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) said in August that the federally regulated exchanges had spent nearly $200 million on digital advertising through the first seven months of 2026. That price tag is likely rising, as it came before the release of ad campaigns like that of Betr, which is leaning on a couple of "Entourage" stars to promote its revamped "super" app.
DraftKings alone has said it plans to spend around $200 million to $300 million on its prediction market platform before the end of 2026. Rival FanDuel has budgeted a similar amount of spending on its prediction market efforts.
Don't fill up on bread
The most recent ad blitz also comes as bettors and traders are turning their attention again to football. Daily trading volume for CFTC-regulated prediction markets has been ticking up as the college season has gotten underway, reaching a three-month high of $2.67 billion last Saturday.
However, NFL football is arguably the main course, and it’s anticipated that trading volumes will hit new highs when the regular season kicks off Wednesday night. The AGA, one of several opponents of sports prediction markets, estimates state-regulated sportsbook handle will see zero growth this year amid the exchange-trading boom.
The legality of sports-related event contracts is still being challenged in numerous courtrooms, as many state gambling regulators just see the trading of those contracts via prediction markets as unauthorized sports betting.
Yet there are companies that have long operated state-regulated sportsbooks that are now putting serious resources into prediction markets. One of them is, again, DraftKings, which recently announced a “Take Your Game Anywhere” campaign featuring Kevin Hart and Nick Jonas.
DraftKings’ ads aim to show “how fans across the country can enjoy DraftKings Sports & Casino - from placing a bet at a New Jersey diner to making a trade during a stop in California,” a press release noted.
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The game within the game
The big ad buys for prediction markets highlight how customer acquisition may be a major priority right now. But prediction markets could see benefits beyond fee revenue.
Theron Tingstad, CEO and cofounder of ad agency Arbor Growth, said the LeBron James-sized advertising campaigns “aren't performance-marketing line items, they're brand budgets, likely running from high seven figures into eight figures once celebrity fees, production, and media buy are combined.”
“That's a different P&L than a typical customer acquisition campaign,” Tingstad told Covers.
But the campaigning that prediction market operators are doing may not be typical. They're not only trying to get the word out about their platforms; they could also be signaling to potential traders that they're legitimate, mainstream businesses.
“The real return is category creation: prediction markets are fighting a legitimacy and regulatory-perception battle, not just a customer-acquisition one,” Tingstad said. “Star power buys social proof and cultural permission, essentially signaling ‘This is mainstream, not a gray-market betting product.’”
So when James blesses a prediction market, it says more than just “trade here.”
And then when it’s James directed by Peter Berg, costarring Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Spike Lee, Sue Bird, Richard Sherman, and Rajon Rondo, among others, it may further suggest to the audience how mainstream things have gone.
I found my boy… @adriangrenier @betr pic.twitter.com/aL2yudb8MG
— Jeremy Piven (@jeremypiven) September 8, 2026
The same could be said for the league and team partnerships that prediction markets are forming.
“To have a league like the NHL embrace Kalshi is a testament to the integrity, safety, and trust with consumers that Kalshi has spent years building during our time pioneering this asset class,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said last year in announcing that partnership.
