DraftKings has launched a new prediction market app "DraftKings Predictions", which has sparked heated discussions among netizens.

US online sports betting operator DraftKings recently launched a new app “DraftKings Predictions” that allows users to trade prediction contracts for sports events and financial events through a prediction market, complementing DraftKings' existing sports betting product line. However, after the product went live, it immediately sparked mixed reviews in the market and among the community.

New prediction market app, participate in both sports events and financial events.

DraftKings states that DraftKings Predictions is not a traditional sports betting platform, but rather allows users to buy and sell “contracts linked to event outcomes,” such as whether a specific sports event will result in a certain outcome, or whether a financial event will occur.

The initial trading targets of the app focus on sports events and financial events, with plans to expand in the future to cultural issues, entertainment events, and cryptocurrency-related events, gradually broadening the coverage of the prediction market.

The state-based cautious launch is limited to 38 states.

Considering that the prediction market is still a highly regulated sensitive area in the United States, DraftKings has adopted a state-by-state launch strategy for this new app. Currently, the app is only available in 38 states, of which only 17 states allow sports-related contract trading.

It is worth noting that the app provides sports prediction contracts in states where online sports betting has not yet been legally opened, such as California, Texas, and Georgia. However, in states where DraftKings holds sports betting licenses, it deliberately does not provide related services.

Considering regulatory relationships, not launching simultaneously across the United States.

Prediction markets fall under the category of derivative products and are primarily regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), rather than the gaming authorities of individual states.

Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, the head of DraftKings' prediction market business, pointed out that theoretically, such federally regulated products could be offered in all 50 states, but the company places a high value on its relationships with state regulatory agencies, and therefore chooses to promote it in a more conservative and gradual manner.

Transactions are matched by CME, introducing a responsible trading mechanism.

In the early launch of the App, trading for DraftKings Predictions will be matched through the newly established prediction market exchange of CME Group, with CME responsible for market monitoring and anomaly detection.

DraftKings also stated that in the coming months, it will gradually redirect transactions to the acquired Railbird Technologies platform, which has completed its CFTC registration.

At the same time, the company has fully integrated the existing “responsible gaming mechanism” from sports betting into the prediction market, including deposit limits, cooling-off periods, and self-exclusion features, allowing users to actively manage their trading behavior.

The product's completion level is questioned, and the initial version experience has sparked user criticism.

Some users have recently questioned the newly launched prediction market App by DraftKings on Twitter (X), claiming that the product is not fully developed. Relevant comments pointed out that the trading direction of certain markets is locked, the interface displays trading options that cannot actually be placed, and the platform does not provide basic trading features such as limit orders, while also criticizing the design of charging a fixed fee for each transaction.

The user bluntly stated that the overall user experience does not match the scale and resources of a company valued at approximately $17 billion, reflecting that the initial version of the product still has significant room for improvement.

Strategic positioning is interpreted, targeting non-gambling states and price-insensitive groups.

However, some netizens believe that the purpose of DraftKings' new app is not to create a competitive prediction market platform, but rather to serve as a supplementary product targeting user groups that originally could not access its sports betting services and have a lower sensitivity to price.

Netizens further pointed out that even if the product design is simplified and the trading conditions are not attractive, it still holds strategic value for DraftKings, and helps to mitigate the potential impact of the prediction market on its core gambling business.

This article discusses DraftKings' newly launched prediction market app “DraftKings Predictions,” which has sparked heated discussions among netizens and first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.