Executives from DraftKings, FanDuel, Penn Entertainment, and BetMGM all touched on prediction markets during their most recent earnings calls, and the messages were essentially the same: They’re keeping tabs but not ready to pounce just yet. 

This comes as industry sources have told Front Office Sports that prediction-markets merger activity is expected ahead of football season, the busiest time of year for sports betting. FOS has reported this summer that FanDuel and Kalshi held discussions about a deal that would include various betting efficiencies, and that DraftKings was in talks to buy Railbird Exchange, an upstart prediction-markets platform that recently gained federal licensure.

There’s still time for deals to go down before September, but the biggest sportsbook operators seem uncertain. The apparent pullback comes after Kalshi recently suffered its first significant legal setback, when a federal judge in Maryland ruled the company must comply with state gambling regulations. 

Below, FOS recaps what the major operators are saying about prediction markets.

DraftKings

DraftKings posted strong business results for the second quarter, including revenue of more than $1.5 billion, a 37% increase compared to the same period last year, driven in part by “sportsbook-friendly outcomes”—meaning bad outcomes for bettors.

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins briefly mentioned prediction markets in opening remarks on the company’s earnings call, saying “we continue to monitor events surrounding federally regulated prediction markets and are actively exploring ways to enhance shareholder value through this opportunity.”

“As always, we value our relationships with both industry stakeholders and policymakers and we’ll work collaboratively as we evaluate next steps,” he added.

He was pushed on the topic during the call’s Q&A portion with analysts, and explained the company is “taking a measured approach.”

Robins declined to comment on any specific talks the company has been having, and said for the moment “we’re more in monitor mode in terms of active discussions like that.” 

“A lot of what I think we need to see will come from watching how things unfold with others that are currently offering prediction markets and I think we’ll kind of have to see how that goes and evaluate it,” he said.

DraftKings maintained its fiscal year 2025 financial guidance of 32% year-over-year growth, but noted in a press release that its guidance “does not include the potential launch of a prediction markets offering.”

FanDuel

The Flutter Entertainment subsidiary touted strong performance with just under $4.2 billion in revenue for the second quarter, amounting to 16% growth “as our U.S. business continues to scale rapidly.” FanDuel updated its full-year 2025 guidance, saying it expects revenue to reach almost $17.3 billion, which would represent a 23% increase year-over-year.

CEO Peter Jackson earlier this year said the company was interested in the “potential opportunity” but he wasn’t “that confident” the sports prediction space would have a “significant impact” in states where sports betting is legal.

In a letter to shareholders issued ahead of Thursday’s earnings call, Jackson noted the “event contracts landscape continues to develop at pace.”

“We have two decades’ experience of operating the world’s largest betting exchange, the Betfair Exchange, which shares similar characteristics with event contracts, and this will help inform our views,” he said. “We are closely monitoring regulatory developments, and are assessing the opportunities and potential participation strategies this may present for FanDuel.”

He reiterated those comments on the earnings call. When pushed, he said it’s “clearly a fast-moving space” with “lots of important stakeholders” the company has to consider.

Penn Entertainment

Penn, which is partnered with ESPN on a betting endeavor that to date has not performed as well as the company had hoped, said it had “another solid quarter.” Its digital arm, which includes sports betting operations, posted about $316 million in revenue, up from almost $233 million over the same time period last year.

CEO Jay Snowden said earlier this year that the company was keeping tabs on prediction markets, which he called a “niche” market. He mostly reiterated that message during the Q2 earnings call and said “I wouldn’t expect us to be a first mover.”

“Not a lot new to say on predictive,” he said. “We’re monitoring. There’s a lot going on there, as you know, in terms of how state gaming regulators feel about predictive markets versus what the predictive market space is doing and expanding.”

Snowden added that if prediction markets “end up getting sort of embraced and legalized and regulated,” then the company could take some action. “We want to see how this plays out,” he said. “There’s a lot going on right now in the courts, as well as with the regulators across the country.”

BetMGM

BetMGM, owned by MGM Resorts International and U.K.-based Entain, boasted “strong underlying growth” with second-quarter revenue of $692 million, up 36% year-over-year.

CEO Adam Greenblatt made extensive comments on prediction markets, saying “we are monitoring this very, very closely” and noting the company is attuned to those who oppose the growth of prediction markets’ sports offerings, including a number of state regulators, dozens of attorneys general, and Native American tribes. 

“They would argue that that is sports betting,” he said.

Yet, he maintained that BetMGM “won’t be caught flat-footed,” and said the company “has the ability” but not “the desire to be a first mover.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed Wednesday that there have been discussions to add other companies’ sports offerings to the upcoming ESPN streaming platform.

That sounds a lot like Venu Sports, the failed sports streaming joint venture that was shut down earlier this year after an antitrust lawsuit.

Iger’s comments were made at the tail end of Walt Disney Company’s third-quarter earnings call, which touched on all aspects of Disney’s business—from the newly announced agreement under which the NFL will take an equity stake in ESPN to the state of Disney’s cruise ship and amusement park businesses. He was responding to the final question of the call, when Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar asked whether there will be future opportunities to bring additional sports onto the streamer.

“Yes, we believe there may be opportunities for us to bundle other companies’ sports offerings,” Iger, 74, said. “We’ve actually had discussions with other companies to do just that.”

“Nothing to report on that,” he added. “But obviously, we’re not only interested in growing engagement and growing our own [subscriptions], but we’re interested in serving consumers better as well.”

ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer platform, called “ESPN,” will launch Aug. 21 and cost $29.99 per month.

Iger went on to say that his focus is making it easier for fans to find the sports they want to watch, something he himself struggles with.

“As a devoted sports fan, I often have to work to find what platform sports are on,” he said. “If we can help consumers in that regard, we’re certainly going to try.”

Iger didn’t mention Venu, but what he was describing is reminiscent of the once-planned joint venture between ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery that was shuttered in January amid controversy.

Fubo had sued over the formation of Venu last summer, arguing the initiative violated U.S. antitrust law. Fubo succeeded in blocking the intended debut of Venu last fall, and the case was still ongoing when the saga came to a sudden end in early January, with Disney agreeing to buy a majority stake in Fubo and the parties dropping the lawsuit. Days later, Venu shuttered for good, after satellite TV carriers DirecTV and EchoStar filed letters with the U.S. District Court arguing that the Disney-Fubo deal and the resulting dismissal of legal claims did not “address the underlying competition issues,” and that Disney simply paid Fubo “to ensure cooperation from an aggrieved competitor.”

Bill Chisholm is expected to assume control of the Celtics within the next two weeks.

The $6.1 billion sale of the Celtics, announced in March, will be voted on by the NBA Board of Governors either late next week or early the following week, two sources familiar with the deal confirmed to Front Office Sports. The timing of the anticipated vote was first reported by Sportico.

The deal did not receive a vote during the most recent board meeting, although team sales don’t need to be voted on during scheduled meetings, a source familiar with the process previously told FOS. The board can call a vote at any time, and it can happen remotely. The vote and the closing of the transaction are the final two steps needed before the group led by Chisholm can formally take over. Closing typically takes place in tandem with the board vote.

The agreement—which set a record for the largest pro sports franchise sale in history that was quickly broken by the sale of the Lakers to Mark Walter at a $10 billion valuation—has taken longer to obtain board approval than some other recent franchise sales.

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. The same was true for the sale of the Suns by embattled ex-owner Robert Sarver to Mat Ishbia, which was approved in February 2023 after being announced in December 2022.

Seemingly, the transaction has been ready for approval since May, when a source familiar with the matter told FOS Chisholm had amassed enough money to cover the cost of the deal. Later that month, 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 Related Companies president Bruce A. Beal Jr. 

Chisholm, who prior to the Celtics announcement was a little-known private-equity executive, is buying the team in his personal capacity, not through his firm, Symphony Technology Group.

The departing majority owner, Wyc Grousbeck, plans to continue overseeing team operations through the 2027–28 season.

The team Chisholm takes over will look very different from the roster when he agreed to the deal. Kristaps Porziņģis and Jrue Holiday, starters for the Celtics squad who won the 2024 NBA championship, have been shuffled out of Boston this summer as the franchise cuts salary in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s Achilles tear sustained during the playoffs.