Sporttrade Secures CFTC Approval to Enter US Prediction Markets
United States.- 4 November 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com Sporttrade has received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to operate as a Designated Contract Market (DCM) in the United States.
Granted on 30 October 2026, the authorisation represents an important milestone in the company’s strategy to develop a federally supervised event-contract trading platform.
The announcement follows Sporttrade’s decision to discontinue its state-regulated sports betting operations and focus on prediction markets.
CFTC Approves Sporttrade as a Regulated Exchange
Registration as a Designated Contract Market allows Sporttrade to operate a derivatives exchange under US federal regulation.
This regulatory category applies to platforms facilitating the trading of derivatives contracts, including certain products linked to future events.
The approval enables Sporttrade to proceed with developing its CFTC-regulated exchange infrastructure.
However, individual products must still satisfy the regulatory requirements applicable to their specific contracts.
Sporttrade Also Secures Clearing Approval
The DCM authorisation follows an earlier regulatory approval involving an affiliated business.
On 16 October 2026, the CFTC approved Sporttrade DCO LLC as a Derivatives Clearing Organisation (DCO).
Together, the two registrations support an infrastructure covering two essential activities:
- Trading: facilitating transactions between market participants.
- Clearing: managing obligations arising from executed contracts.
This structure provides an important foundation for Sporttrade’s new business model.
Sporttrade Exits State-Regulated Sports Betting
The federal approval completes a significant stage of the company’s strategic transition.
Sporttrade previously operated a sports betting exchange across five US jurisdictions under state gambling regulations.
However, in May 2026, the company discontinued those operations to focus its resources on obtaining federal authorisations.
The decision involved moving away from traditional state-regulated sports betting and towards event-contract trading infrastructure.
The DCM registration process was completed approximately nine months after the company’s initial application.
Fliff Prepares to Integrate with Sporttrade
Following the federal approval, Sporttrade began onboarding commercial partners and participants to its new infrastructure.
Among them is Fliff, which intends to route customer orders to the Sporttrade exchange.
The integration remains subject to the necessary regulatory authorisations.
The arrangement could enable commercial intermediaries to use Sporttrade’s exchange and clearing infrastructure to provide access to eligible event contracts.
The company intends to introduce its services through a phased implementation process.
A New Phase for US Prediction Markets
Sporttrade’s approval comes amid continued expansion of prediction markets in the United States.
These platforms facilitate trading in contracts whose value depends on the outcome of specific future events.
Such products fall under CFTC supervision when they are covered by the federal derivatives regulatory framework.
The arrival of additional authorised exchanges may increase the number of market participants and technology providers.
However, the industry’s development continues alongside debates concerning the respective powers of federal and state regulators.
Sporttrade Focuses on Trading Infrastructure
Unlike its previous sports betting exchange, Sporttrade’s new business model aims to provide trading infrastructure for different intermediaries.
The company intends to develop systems connecting market participants and processing transactions within a regulated environment.
Its authorised clearing organisation represents an important component of this strategy.
Sporttrade is therefore seeking to position itself as an infrastructure provider within the US event-contract ecosystem.
Industry Impact and Next Steps
CFTC approval enables Sporttrade to advance towards the implementation of its new services.
The company must complete operational preparations, onboard participants and comply with applicable regulatory requirements before expanding its commercial activities.
The planned integration with Fliff represents one of the first partnerships announced under the new model.
With federal approval to operate both a designated contract market and a derivatives clearing organisation, Sporttrade has completed a key stage in its transformation from state-regulated sports betting to CFTC-supervised prediction markets.
The next steps will focus on launching the infrastructure and progressively onboarding commercial partners.
Edited by: @fonta
