Wall Street continues to wade deeper into the world of wagers. New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange agreed to invest $2 billion in prediction market operator Polymarket, the companies announced. Bookies DraftKings and FanDuel-parent Flutter Entertainment fell on the news.
Intercontinental Exchange's $2 billion investment values Polymarket between $8 billion and $10 billion.
Founded in 2020, Polymarket is a crypto-based prediction market platform that allows users to bet on yes-or-no questions about the outcome of real world events ranging from politics to sports. The privately held company has drawn investments from Founders Fund, Peter Thiel's venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, which is backed by Donald Trump Jr., as well as Vitalik Buterin, cofounder of ethereum. Trump Jr. joined Polymarket's advisory board in August after 1789 Capital became an investor.
Polymarket has been banned for U.S. users since 2022 following a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the Biden administration. But the CFTC and Justice Department in July reportedly ended their probes into the company.
CEO Shayne Coplan in a July social media post said that "Polymarket has been given the green light to go live in the USA by the CFTC." The company acquired a U.S.-licensed exchange and clearinghouse as part of its reentry efforts.
ICE Stock Climbs, Bookies Slide
Intercontinental Exchange shares swung 1.8% higher Tuesday on the news. ICE stock is up almost 9% this year, but has fallen hard since August and is trading well below its key moving averages.
DraftKings retreated 5.8% Tuesday, falling further below its 200-day line.
Flutter Entertainment declined 3.7%, also trading below its technical lines.
Shares of the sportsbook operators tumbled at the start of October on news from Polymarket's prediction market rivals.
Kalshi on Sept. 29 rolled out parlay-like offerings ahead of NFL "Monday Night Football." That same day, Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev in a social media post said that customers transacted more than 4 billion event contracts, including elections and sports contests, with 2 billion of those transactions in Q3 alone. Robinhood first launched sports contracts on its prediction market hub in March via a partnership with Kalshi.
DraftKings has fallen 11.4% this year, while FLUT stock is still up 16% in 2025.
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