DraftKings Expands DKeX Football Prediction Markets

DraftKings is expanding its prediction market platform ahead of the 2026 football season, with its Railbird Exchange subsidiary preparing to offer a wider range of sports event contracts through the DKeX platform.

Railbird Exchange, operating as DKeX, submitted self-certification filings with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) covering nine football-related contract categories on August 10. The products are expected to become certified on August 12 and can be listed for trading afterward, subject to the regulatory process.

The move follows DraftKings’ recent filing for its COMBOS product, which allows users to combine multiple event contracts into a single position. Together, the new football markets and multi-leg contracts expand the company’s prediction market offering as it prepares for increased activity during football season.

DKeX Introduces Expanded Football Contract Menu

The new football contracts cover markets that resemble many traditional sportsbook categories while operating as prediction market event contracts.

The filings include contracts based on game winners, point spreads, totals, player and team statistics, game-level statistics, in-game achievements, player comparisons, season awards and outright competition results.

According to Gambling Insider, the FOOTBALLWIN category covers whether a team wins a game or a specific portion of a game. FOOTBALLSPREAD focuses on whether a team wins by more or loses by less than a specified margin, while FOOTBALLTOTALS relates to whether scoring outcomes finish above or below a set number.

Additional contracts will cover player and team performance. FOOTBALLENTITYSTAT applies to statistical achievements by players or teams, while FOOTBALLGAMESTAT covers statistics recorded during a game. FOOTBALLENTITYACHIEVEMENT addresses specific accomplishments reached during play.

The filings also include head-to-head performance comparisons, season award markets and outright outcomes. The contracts apply to professional and college football competitions, including the NFL and College Football Playoff.

A regulatory filing for DKeX’s COMBOS product described the contracts as follows:

“The Contracts settle on a joint outcome of two or more constituent contracts listed on DKeX and subject to the terms of Chapter 13 of the DKeX Rulebook. The Contracts are categorized as swaps. This submission shall become certified by August 11, 2026, and the Contracts will be listed for trading on the Exchange thereafter.”

DraftKings Pushes In-House Prediction Infrastructure

DraftKings has been building its own prediction market infrastructure through Railbird Exchange, which it acquired in October 2025. The company launched its proprietary DKeX exchange in June as part of its effort to operate more of the prediction market process internally.

The expansion of DKeX products follows strong growth in DraftKings’ prediction market business. CEO Jason Robins said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call that football season could significantly increase activity on the platform.

Robins expects the NFL season to attract “millions and millions of customers” to the exchange, describing the upcoming football period as the company’s largest opportunity so far.

DraftKings reported that annualized prediction market volume increased from $2.3 billion in April to $11 billion in July. More than 600,000 customers have used the product during the year, with adoption exceeding internal expectations.

The company has also seen increased use of COMBOS, which function similarly to parlays offered through traditional sportsbooks. DraftKings Predictions previously offered combination contracts through Crypto.com’s exchange infrastructure, with more than half of Predictions customers using the feature and around 20% of consumer trading volume coming from COMBOS.

The introduction of COMBOS on DKeX allows DraftKings to move more prediction market activity onto its own exchange infrastructure.

DraftKings’ latest filings arrive as prediction market operators continue expanding sports-related offerings ahead of the 2026 football calendar.

The company’s football contracts are designed to cover a broad range of possible outcomes, including team results, statistical performances and season achievements.

A separate filing for season award contracts stated:

“The Contracts settle on whether a designated football player or coach earns a specified season-long award, as officially confirmed by the awarding body, subject to the terms of the contract and market specifications and Chapter 13 of the DKeX Rulebook. The Contracts are categorized as swaps.”