Sports Illustrated to dip toe in prediction markets

Sports Illustrated has launched its own prediction platform in partnership with digital marketing firm Galactic as the media brand looks to get involved in the growing sector.

The pair have collaborated to enter the burgeoning event contracts space and create SI Predict.

As per Galactic’s press release, the platform is designed to increase fan engagement through interaction with “lifestyle moments” adjacent to sports. 

Set to launch in Q2 2025, pending regulatory approval, the product will be powered by blockchain technology.

The joint statement from the two companies has outlined how the product will be compliant with the requirements of US derivatives regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). 

Galactic, via SI Predict, will allow players to “showcase their expertise without the complexities of gambling nor a focus on outcomes or traditional game-specific propositions found at sportsbooks.” 

The development comes ahead of roundtables from the CFTC where the regulator is expected to mull over how to establish a framework for prediction markets. 

“Sports Illustrated has always been about engaging fans in the stories that shape the world of sports,” explained Dan Dienst, executive vice chairman of parent company Authentic Brands Group.

“With SI Predict, we’re excited to watch Galactic roll out its platform to fans and enthusiasts and enable them to express their insights beyond the sofa or neighborhood tavern and engage passionately with a more global audience on the content adjacent to the sport moments they love.” 

Stuart Stott, Galactic CEO, added: “Sports viewership is no longer a one-way conversation.  

“Fans want to be involved, and they want their opinions to have weight. SI Predict revolutionizes sports engagement, transforming it from passive viewership to an active, influential forum.” 

Though not yet live, customers interested in early access can sign up now via the SI Predict website. 

SI Predict comes 12 months on from the termination of Sports Illustrated’s deal with evoke, which had operated the SI Sportsbook and Casino when the operator was known as 888.

The venture was shuttered after evoke withdrew from the US market, ending its deal with Authentic Brands Group in the process. 

To sever the deal, evoke paid a termination fee of $25m. Evoke then sold its remaining US B2C assets to Hard Rock Digital in March 2024.

Since the run up to the 2024 US presidential election, prediction platforms such as Kalshi have been able to offer contracts on the outcome of political elections, though the CFTC took the New York-based company to court in an effort to stop it. 

In the months that followed the election, Crypto.com became the first exchange to roll out sports event contracts ahead of February’s Super Bowl.  

Kalshi and retail brokerage firm Robinhood have since followed suit, with the former generating more than $200m in trading volume during the March Madness college basketball tournament. 

All three of these companies have been asked by the CFTC at some stage to suspend their respective sports event contracts offering.

Initially, Robinhood was the only firm to comply, though it has since partnered with Kalshi to launch sports markets for a second time. 

The legally sensitive nature of the contracts, which are accessible in all 50 US states to any player aged 18 and over, means there has been some pushback, most notably from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). 

The regulator issued a cease-and-desist order to Kalshi along with a reminder to the prediction market that offering contracts based on the outcome of elections or sporting fixtures is “unlawful” in the state without the permission of the NGCB. 

Despite the warning, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour has vowed the company will “keep marching” and pave the way for prediction markets in the US.