DraftKings Launches Own Prediction Market Exchange DKeX, Replacing Crypto.com and CME

DraftKings has launched its own prediction market exchange, DKeX, on June 26, shifting its trading away from third-party infrastructure such as CME Group and Crypto.com. The exchange is built on technology and a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) license gained through the acquisition of Railbird Technologies in October 2025. DKeX is integrated into the unified DraftKings: Sports & Casino app, ending the company’s reliance on outside platforms.

The primary motivation is economic. Previously, when trades cleared on CME or Crypto.com, customers paid both an exchange fee and a DraftKings fee, with the third-party venue retaining a cut. By matching orders on its own book, DraftKings now collects those trading fees directly. As Wall Street broker Bernstein noted in a June 29 note, the revenue share that used to leave the building now stays inside it.

DraftKings is not alone in this vertical integration trend. Bernstein observed that over roughly eight months, every major consumer-facing prediction platform has moved to own both its customer base and its exchange. Robinhood built Rothera with Susquehanna, Coinbase bought The Clearing Company, and Flutter (FanDuel’s parent) set up a dual-broker structure. Analysts argue this leaves leaders Kalshi and Polymarket—which own exchange technology but lack a built-in consumer audience—looking like plausible acquisition targets.

DraftKings reported that its Predictions platform generated approximately $3.4 billion in annualized consumer volume and about $11.3 billion in annualized total trading volume for the week ended June 21, a period boosted by the FIFA World Cup. CEO Jason Robins said, “DKeX provides a vertically integrated foundation for Draftkings Predictions … enabling us to move faster as we continue enhancing our unified app.” However, these annualized figures mask the platform’s still-small scale, as Ingame noted the week’s actual total volume was only about $216 million, roughly $31 million a day, compared to market leader Kalshi, which routinely clears over $1 billion a day.

DKeX also leverages a regulatory edge that has drawn scrutiny. Because its sports event contracts fall under CFTC oversight rather than state gambling law, DraftKings can offer them in 18 states, generally those where sportsbooks are not legal. This federal-versus-state question is being contested nationwide: the CFTC has sued states to keep prediction markets beyond local gambling regulators’ reach, even as some lawmakers push for tighter limits.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/draftkings-drops-crypto-com-launches-own-prediction-market-exchange/