Robinhood joins Kalshi and Polymarket in challenging the traditional sports betting market

[American football arena with yellow goal post, grass field and blurred fans at playground view. 3D render. Flashlights]
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Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HOOD]) announced on Tuesday the launch of pro and college football prediction markets directly within the Robinhood app. Available through the Prediction Markets Hub, Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HOOD]) customers can now trade on the outcomes of the most popular pro and college football games, including all regular season pro matchups. The service is expected to be live within a few days, well in advance of the highly anticipated start of the college football and NFL seasons.

"Adding pro and college football to our prediction markets hub is a no-brainer for us as we aim to make Robinhood a one-stop shop for all your investing and trading needs," highlighted Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HOOD]) executive JB Mackenzie.

At launch, Robinhood (HOOD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HOOD]) plans to offer contracts for the first two weeks of the pro and college seasons and plans to add weekly matchups as the season progresses.

Unlike sports betting, where the company sets a line, event contracts leverage the power of a financial market structure and are offered in a marketplace where buyers and sellers interact actively to set the price.

New York City-based Kalshi is also significantly expanding its pro and college football markets for the 2025 season. Previously focused primarily on moneyline outcomes and outright winners, Kalshi’s football offerings now include contracts for point spreads, totals (over/unders), and touchdown props at both the NFL and collegiate levels.

Unlike typical sports betting apps offered by DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DKNG]), FanDuel (NYSE:FLUT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FLUT]), and BetMGM (MGM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MGM]) (OTCPK:GMVHF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GMVHF]), users can effortlessly buy and sell contracts, allowing early exit and liquidity before outcomes are settled. However, there is still plenty of regulatory scrutiny on prediction markets that leaves the future uncertain.

Other companies active in offering prediction markets include Polymarket, TradeX, PredictRAM, Crypto.com, Interactive Brokers (IBKR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IBKR]), NinjaTrader, Webull, Manifold, PredictIt, and the Iowa Electronic Markets.

For its part, DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DKNG]) has said that it is closely monitoring the prediction market space but has not officially launched or committed to offering a prediction market. Shares of DKNG were down 1.0% in Tuesday morning trading, and FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FLUT]) traded flat.

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