TLDR CME Group CEO Terry Duffy said some sports prediction markets amount to gambling CME certified new sports event contracts for tennis, golf, and college football FanDuel Predicts expanded its offering through a deal with Crypto.com’s Nadex CME is suing the CFTC over its approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures Flutter’s CEO called prediction markets a strong customer acquisition opportunity
CME Group CEO Terry Duffy said some sportsbook-style prediction markets are gambling. He made the comment during the exchange’s second-quarter earnings call on July 22.
Duffy drew a line between CME’s own sports-event contracts and other products on the market. He pointed to small parlays as an example of what he does not consider a real market.
The comment does not mean CME avoids sports contracts entirely. The exchange already lists a growing number of sports-linked contracts, including soccer combos.
Duffy has raised this concern before. On the call, he repeated his view that broader sports prediction markets could end up before the Supreme Court.
“A lot of these prediction markets on sports are gambling,” Duffy said. He added that CME does not want to be part of that category right now.
Duffy also said some contracts are open to manipulation. He specifically named small parlays as an example.
CME President and CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick said the exchange offers a narrower product set than some competitors. She said this is intentional, to meet regulatory requirements.
CME Expands Its Sports Contract Lineup
One day before the earnings call, CME certified new sports event contract swaps. These covered tennis tournament champions, golf finishing positions, and college football outcomes, including the national championship.
CME stated in its filing that the contracts qualify as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. This places them under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.
The exchange also said