Fanatics Acquires Regulated Exchange, Bets on Event Contracts and Sports Prediction Markets

On July 27, according to CoinDesk, U.S. sports company Fanatics announced it will acquire Water Street Labs and CX Clearinghouse from BGC Group, obtaining federally regulated exchange and clearinghouse licenses to independently manage the listing and settlement of prediction market contracts. Through this acquisition, Fanatics can accelerate the launch of new event contracts and directly compete with platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. The two parties also plan to jointly develop new categories of data products that combine prediction market trading data with traditional financial market data. Fanatics' Markets platform, launched at the end of 2024, currently covers 23 U.S. states and 4 overseas territories.