DraftKings is currently in acquisition talks with Railbird Exchange, an upstart prediction markets platform that recently gained federal licensure, a source told Front Office Sports. Financial terms were not known, and a deal has not been finalized. 

“DraftKings speaks to a variety of companies regarding various matters in the normal course of business, and it is our general policy not to comment on the specifics of any of those discussions,” a spokesperson for the sportsbook told FOS in a statement. Railbird did not respond to a request for comment. 

The discussions come amid widespread industry belief that sportsbooks and prediction markets will become intertwined in the coming months. 

DraftKings previously applied for a federal license to operate a prediction market, but withdrew the application in April. “DraftKings continues to monitor developments related to prediction markets as an emerging product that reflects evolving consumer engagement and warrants thoughtful consideration,” its rep said. 

Last month, FOS reported that FanDuel has had talks about partnering with Kalshi, the exchange that has grown in prominence in sports prediction markets, including via a collaboration with Robinhood. No deal between FanDuel and Kalshi has been completed. 

Football season is by far the busiest time of year for sports gambling, and industry sources believe there will be a flurry of activity, whether by M&A or strategic partnerships, as it approaches. “Every major sportsbook is lining up partnerships,” one source told FOS. 

Sportsbooks are regulated state by state, but prediction markets like Kalshi operate with federal licensing. This means they’re available in big states like California and Texas that do not have legal sports betting. 

In sports, Kalshi offers championship futures, golf and tennis tournament odds, and single-game winners (called the moneyline bet on sportsbooks). Sources have said it’s only a matter of time until they delve into point spreads, player props, and parlays. 

Gaming boards in legal sports betting states have protested the advent of prediction markets, which aren’t subject to the same regulations and taxes as sportsbooks.

Kalshi has faced considerable pushback to its sports offerings, including a series of state lawsuits from newly formed limited liability companies with uniform names—Kentucky Gambling Recovery LLC, Illinois Gambling Recovery LLC, and so on—as well as cease-and-desist orders from regulators in at least seven states: Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, Montana and Arizona. In response, the company has sued regulators in three of those states: Nevada, New Jersey, and Maryland. Nevertheless, the exchange has scored significant early victories in the Nevada and New Jersey suits and continues to operate, although those cases remain ongoing. 

The NBA’s two most historic franchises will have to wait to get formal approval for their recent sales.  

The NBA’s Board of Governors will meet Tuesday, but the recent record sales of the Celtics and Lakers are not on the agenda, a league source tells Front Office Sports. That means both the sale of the Celtics at a $6.1 billion valuation, and the transaction that quickly broke its record for largest pro sports franchise sale in history—the Lakers sale at a $10 billion valuation to existing minority owner Mark Walter—are not expected to be voted on by the rest of the league’s owners. 

The Celtics’ $6.1 billion sale was announced in March, just days before the NBA’s most recent Board of Governors meeting. At the time, commissioner Adam Silver said the league was “still in the process of digesting” it, which made it too early to vote on. 

So it’s no surprise the Lakers deal, which is less than a month old, isn’t ready for a vote, either. That doesn’t mean either deal is in trouble. Team sales do not need to be voted on during scheduled Board of Governors meetings, a source familiar with the process tells FOS. The board can call a vote at any time. BOG approval and the closing of the transaction are the last two steps needed before the group led by Bill Chisholm can formally take over the Celtics. The BOG tends to meet three times per year, and special meetings of the BOG can be called as needed.

Compared to recent history, the Celtics deal is taking some time to obtain approval from the Board of Governors. It took about one month for the sale of Mark Cuban’s majority stake in the Mavericks to receive BOG approval after its November 2023 announcement; Michael Jordan’s sale of his majority stake in the Hornets was approved about a month and a half after its June 2023 announcement; same for the sale of the Suns by embattled ex-owner Robert Sarver to Mat Ishbia, which was approved in early February 2023 after being announced in December 2022.

The most recent deal approved by the Board of Governors, the Timberwolves sale to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore—which took about four years to complete—is an outlier because that was a multi-part transaction that was contested by the outgoing owner. The Celtics deal is also going to take place in multiple parts, but current governor Wyc Grousbeck isn’t seeking to claw back the deal like Glen Taylor did. Rodriguez and Lore were formally introduced as majority owners on Friday in Las Vegas. 

Seemingly, the Celtics deal has been ready for approval since May. Then, a source familiar with the matter told FOS that Chisholm had amassed enough money to cover the cost of the deal, and the agreement would be compliant with NBA private-equity ownership rules (which stipulate that a PE firm cannot be the largest stakeholder in a team and that the controlling owner must contribute at least 15% of the purchase price).

In late May, FOS confirmed that the CEO of ArcelorMittal—the world’s second-largest steel producer—is contributing $1 billion to the transaction. Other investors participating in the deal include private-equity firm Sixth Street, existing Celtics minority owner Robert Hale Jr., and Bruce A. Beal Jr., president of Related Companies. 

With neither the Lakers nor the Celtics sale on the agenda, the league’s owners will likely spend a significant amount of time discussing possible expansion at Tuesday’s meeting. At the NBA Finals in June, Silver said he plans to “take the temperature of the room” among owners to see whether there is enough interest to engage in the next steps of the process. 

“The current sense is we should be exploring it,” Silver said in June ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. “I don’t think it’s automatic, because it depends on your perspective on the future of the league. Expansion, in a way, is selling equity in the league. And if you believe in the league, you don’t necessarily want to add partners.”

Silver has wavered on expansion talks over the years, originally saying it was something the NBA would do after its collective bargaining agreement and media-rights deals were finished. But since both have been completed, Silver has announced the NBA’s intent to “explore” a league in Europe and expansion talks stalled after the Celtics went up for sale shortly after winning the 2024 NBA Finals. 

The sales price for both the Celtics and Lakers could help drive expansion fees for teams above $6 billion, which would be divided among the league’s 30 owners for $200 million apiece. If the NBA does vote to expand, Seattle and Las Vegas have long been rumored to be the two front-runners to get teams. 

Florida-based investment firm Digital Athlete Ventures is buying the Cobh Ramblers, who play in Ireland’s second tier of soccer, Front Office Sports has learned, marking the latest in a growing trend of U.S. investors getting into European soccer.

The deal for a 90% stake is set to be announced this coming week, a source familiar with the matter tells FOS. Financial details were not disclosed, and a representative for the buyer declined to comment. Formed in 1922, the Ramblers play in the League of Ireland First Division, which is the second tier of Irish soccer (the highest tier is called the League of Ireland Premier Division, which the Ramblers could get promoted into depending on how this season ends). They currently sit in second place.

The news comes after the Ramblers on Thursday issued a statement to “clarify” that they were no longer owned and operated by FC32, a group formed to own multiple soccer clubs that has faced recent controversy over apparent financing issues. FC32, which purchased the Ramblers in October of last year, reportedly stopped providing capital to second-tier Austrian team SKN St. Pölten earlier this year on short notice. That led to concerns about its ownership of the Ramblers, which the team addressed in Thursday’s statement. FC32 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We can confirm that the club has formally and fully parted ways with FC32 Global Investments Limited,” the statement said. “The process of separation has been completed, and Cobh Ramblers FC has returned to being solely operated by its elected committee and Directors. Any previously appointed representatives or board members affiliated with FC32 are no longer involved in the club.”

The Thursday statement also noted that the team was in “advanced” discussions with a potential buyer. Digital Athlete Ventures is that buyer. DAV is also a sponsor of singer Marc Anthony’s E1 Team Miami, an all-electric powered racing team that competes in the UIM E1 World Championship.

DAV is led by three managing partners: Bryant Clark, founder of Texas-based Fifty Five South Ventures, Ilya Movshovich, a serial entrepreneur, and venture capital veteran Pedro Lombardo, managing partner at JPX Investments. Also involved with the group is Alexander Jarvis, who advises on soccer club deals through his own firm, Blackbridge Sports LLC and recently joined DAV as an advisor. Blackbridge recently facilitated the deal that saw Lenore Sports Partners buy a minority stake in Portuguese soccer club SL Benfica.

Jarvis declined to comment on the Ramblers, but he did tell FOS the market for investment in European soccer clubs is “increasingly competitive and now very much on the radar for U.S. family offices and sports-focused funds.”

U.S. investor interest in European soccer seems to be an unstoppable trend; investors like former MLS executive Sam Porter, Bruin Capital CEO George Pyne, and two-time Super Bowl champion Logan Ryan have all recently discussed with FOS their interest in such investments.