Robinhood unveiled a variety of new features related to its rapidly growing prediction markets Tuesday, including preset and custom combos, which are akin to parlays at sportsbooks.
Key Takeaways
- Customers can currently find Preset Combos and Player Contracts.
- More than 11 billion contracts were traded in the first year of prediction markets at Robinhood.
- State regulators are still fighting against the growth of prediction platforms.
Robinhood chairman and CEO Vlad Tenev revealed the company’s new developments during a keynote event at Summit Skywalker Ranch near San Francisco.
Preset Combos allow customers to purchase multiple contract outcomes, such as those related to game totals and spreads. Each combo will pay $1 on the purchasing price if all the outcomes settle correctly.
Starting early next year, Robinhood users will be able to create Custom Combos with up to 10 outcomes. Both combo types will only be available for pro football games.
Additionally, Robinhood customers will find Player Contracts available for purchase. Similar to props, these can pertain to a variety of markets, including anytime touchdown scorer, passing yards, rushing yards, receiving yards, and more.
“This was a great opportunity for us to really be able to become the leader in the space, and that’s what we’re working to do,” JB Mackenzie, vice president and general manager of futures and international at Robinhood, told CNBC. “The enhancements here are another example of it, where we’re trying to build new customer experiences that make it easier and, in some cases, provide them more advanced order types and trading capabilities to meet the needs that they’re asking us for.”
While Player Contracts are only available for pro football, the company has plans to quickly introduce them to more sports.
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Adding more features
Bolstering Robinhood’s prediction markets is part of the company’s vision to grow in a blossoming industry. With markets in sports, entertainment, economics, politics, and more, the platform’s offerings are quickly becoming part of the mainstream.
“Robinhood is ushering in a new era in which AI and prediction markets will come together to change the future of finance and news,” Tenev said.
According to the company’s website, 11 billion contracts have been traded by more than one million customers since prediction markets were launched at the end of 2024.
Increasing demands from users prompted Robinhood to put more attention into its prediction contracts. That includes launching limit orders, dollar-based trading, 24/7 market availability, detail pages for sports, and a live sports hub.
The company is also launching Scoreboard, a newsletter powered by Sherwood Media that will be delivered Monday-Friday. Information blasts will include updates on games, stats, markets, and general news relevant to contract trading.
Scoreboard is free for customers.
Battle brewing
As much as prediction platforms are still creating feuds with sportsbooks and state gaming regulators, their momentum is undeniable.
Robinhood, alongside Kalshi, Polymarket, crypto.com, and other platforms, have dramatically tipped the scales of the gambling industry, poaching potential customers from legal sportsbooks. These platforms have also secured mainstream partnerships, such as Kalshi’s deals with CNN and CNBC.
Despite that, they are not in the clear. Robinhood itself recently agreed to stop offering sports prediction markets in the gaming-rich state of Nevada after a federal judge denied its request for a temporary injunction against the state regulator, which had issued a cease-and-desist order to Robinhood.
