Underdog Files First 7 Sports Contracts for Its Own Prediction Exchange
Underdog’s newly acquired exchange, Aristotle Exchange DCM Inc. operating as UDX, self-certified seven sports event-contract templates with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on July 15. The filings, recorded in the regulator’s product database, indicate that UDX intends to list the first contracts for trading no later than July 17. The documents establish a launch target but do not confirm that public trading has begun.
The certifications cover three baseball and three basketball templates resembling game-winner, winning-margin, and total-score markets. A seventh, broader contract allows markets on whether a named athlete, team, or other entity achieves an outcome during a defined period. The CFTC database lists all seven products as certified binary-event swaps.
Each contract has a $1 notional value and may trade between $0.001 and $0.999. UDX said trading would generally remain available outside announced maintenance windows, and at least one market maker will provide liquidity. The baseball-total filing sets a 2.5 million-contract participant position limit and a 25 million-contract limit for market makers.
Underdog acquired Aristotle Exchange DCM and its affiliated derivatives clearing organization in March, stating that the purchase would allow it to offer products through an exchange it owns. Prior to the acquisition, Underdog operated primarily as an intermediary offering access to contracts listed by other federally registered venues. Its current documentation shows that some accounts route trades to Kalshi, while others remain powered by Crypto.com’s Derivatives North America (Nadex). Running UDX gives Underdog greater control over contract design and settlement rules, reducing its dependence on third-party exchanges, though existing relationships may continue alongside the new venue.
The entity-outcome template permits contracts involving athletes, teams, match winners, tournament advancement, championships, rankings, and statistical thresholds. The filing also allows multiple entities to be combined using AND logic (where every condition must occur) or OR logic (where one qualifying outcome is sufficient). This structure could support parlay-like products, although UDX does not use the term “parlay” or identify a specific combined contract it plans to list.
The filings are self-certifications rather than affirmative CFTC approvals: UDX certified that the products comply with the Commodity Exchange Act and commission regulations. A separate UDX rule amendment supporting request-for-quote functionality remains under a 10-day review, indicating that some planned exchange features may follow the first product listings.
This move comes as the CFTC considers its first comprehensive framework for sports event contracts. The commission’s proposal would permit most conventional outcome markets while restricting products tied to injuries, officiating, and certain discrete in-game actions. UDX’s first filings concentrate on game outcomes, scoring totals, and broader competitive results—product categories that would generally remain permitted under that proposal.
The certifications move Underdog beyond merely displaying contracts supplied by other exchanges. Once UDX begins listing the products, the fantasy and sports gaming company will also control the regulated venue where at least part of its prediction-market inventory is created, traded, and settled.
Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/underdog-files-first-7-sports-contracts-for-its-own-prediction-exchange/