“America's first sports-native prediction market” has officially received its exchange license from a federal regulator.
New York-based ProphetX announced Thursday that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved the company’s application to register as both a designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organization (DCO).
- ProphetX received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate as both a designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization.
- The operator says the licenses position it to become the first "sports-native, direct-clearing prediction market" operating under the CFTC’s regulatory framework.
- The company will compete with rivals such as Kalshi and Polymarket, and offer a proprietary parlay pricing system that lets users build and price combinations directly with counterparties.
ProphetX’s applications had been pending before the CFTC since last November.
Now that they’re approved, the current sweepstakes-based operator says it is ready to get to work under the federal regulatory framework for prediction markets.
“With these CFTC licenses, ProphetX is poised to become the first sports-native, direct-clearing prediction market to launch and operate in full compliance with the CFTC's DCM and DCO regulatory framework,” a press release said.
ProphetX is now in line to join a growing number of operators in the prediction market space, including Kalshi, Polymarket, and sports betting brands such as DraftKings and FanDuel. There are also more than a dozen DCM applications still pending before the CFTC.
The U.S. prediction market business gets a bit more crowded:
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) June 11, 2026
ProphetX Obtains CFTC Approval to Operate America's First Federally Regulated Sports-Native Exchange pic.twitter.com/tOCHsQMNwX
However, while it has used the sweepstakes model as it awaited CFTC licensure, ProphetX says it has been in the business of trying to facilitate peer-to-peer betting on sports since 2018, starting in the United Kingdom.
“The company was building exchange infrastructure for sports-based contracts years before U.S. prediction markets entered the sports event contract space,” the release said. “Today's CFTC approval positions ProphetX to further advance its market-leading platform, drive innovation, and expand its presence in the rapidly growing prediction markets industry.”
Moreover, ProphetX says it will join the CFTC-regulated prediction market fray with a proprietary “Request for Quote (RFQ) Parlay Mechanism,” which will allow users to build and price combos directly with counterparties. That could prove helpful, as sports bettors have shown they are extremely fond of the parlay.
"We can now expand our best-in-class sports event market offerings to millions of Americans across the country while competing on a level regulatory playing field,” said ProphetX CEO and cofounder Dean Sisun in Wednesday’s release.
