Sports trading marketplace Sporttrade announced on Friday it's leaving online betting markets in the U.S.
Sporttrade had been seeking approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for its exchange, which contained prediction-style sports betting positions.
Key Takeaways
- Sporttrade was early to the party with sports-related contracts.
- After first seeking state licensing, the company pivoted and asked for federal regulation.
- The company’s application could’ve taken multiple months or years to process.
Sporttrade revealed its “important update” in a post shared on social media Friday.
An update from Sporttrade: pic.twitter.com/PQZ74YyyVv
— Sporttrade (@sporttrade_app) May 15, 2026
The update informed customers that the platform will close for business on May 25. New Jersey users have until then to withdraw funds from their accounts before they lose access, while users in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia have until June 25.
The platform will go completely offline on June 26. Any outstanding balances in user accounts will be mailed to the addresses listed in customers’ account information.
Shutting down operations is a sharp reversal in course from just three months ago, when the company submitted an application to the CFTC for approval as a designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization.
“Today marks the opening of an incredibly exciting chapter of the Sporttrade journey.” Alex Kane, Sporttrade’s founder and CEO, said in a statement after the application was submitted. “The CFTC’s market-based regulatory framework enables Sporttrade to provide market participants an elevated level of efficiency, transparency, and consumer protection relative to what we’ve been able to offer to date.”
As the booming prediction industry soared, Sporttrade was stuck on the sidelines. It did not have the same flexibility to conduct business nationwide as other CFTC-approved prediction operators.
Sporttrade did not follow the same path as prediction leaders such as Kalshi and Polymarket. It initially pursued approval from state gaming regulators – including those in the five states mentioned above – before pivoting and pursuing CFTC approval.
Work began on Sporttrade’s CFTC application last April, a process that took close to a year and required separate bids for an exchange and clearinghouse.
Sporttrade, founded in 2018, offered sports contracts since it first launched in New Jersey in 2022. That was about two-and-a-half years before Kalshi launched sports event contracts for the 2025 Super Bowl.
Despite being ahead of the curve, Sporttrade often found itself stuck in legal mud. State gaming compacts were written with traditional sportsbooks in mind and did not have a clear framework for exchanges, while the CFTC opposed sports event contracts before President Donald Trump retook office at the beginning of 2025.
“We had originally constructed our venue under the assumption that the sports trading vertical would follow the trajectory of most other electronic markets, one towards efficiency and transparency powered by broker intermediation and institutional participation,” Kane previously said when Sporttrader submitted its CFTC application.
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Full steam ahead?
Prediction markets are experiencing a time of rapid growth in the U.S. Their access, particularly in states that haven’t legalized sports betting, and favorable prices relative to sportsbooks have helped them attract a large audience in a short time.
The latest prediction market news is that the American Gaming Association and Indian Gaming Association sent a letter to Congress, imploring them to shut down prediction markets that step on the toes of state gaming operators. This was the second time the two groups wrote to Congress this year.
Without any action, prediction operators are still free to offer their contracts nationwide. A recent survey found that 15% of Americans had already purchased prediction contracts, more than half of the 27% that said they maintained an active sportsbook account.
