Fanatics’ prediction market subsidiary, Fanatics Markets, has partnered with ADI Predictstreet to launch an interactive FIFA World Cup 2026 Hub experience for US sports fans during this summer’s tournament.
The co-branded hub, launched yesterday, “offers fans expanded global football prediction markets alongside tournament news, official player data and in-app content designed to enhance the World Cup trading experience”.
It will be available in the 23 states and four US territories in which Fanatics is active in, and will help ADI Predictstreet – the newly launched business and official prediction market partner of the FIFA World Cup – build a presence stateside.
“As the Official Prediction Market Partner of FIFA World Cup 2026, we are thrilled to have a US partner that fans already know and trust,” said Dimitrios Psarrakis, Chief Executive Officer of ADI Predictstreet.
“As a global leader in sports – through the merchandise, the moments, the direct relationships with millions of fans, their reach and understanding of the American sports fan is unmatched.
“As the primary host country for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the US is a strategically important market, and we greatly value the long-term opportunity this collaboration provides to strengthen the presence of the ADI Predictstreet brand in the region.”
Spot the difference
The description of the partnership, however, looks eerily similar to how ADI Predictstreet was positioned upon its launch.
At the beginning of April, the company burst onto the scene out of nowhere, firstly gaining a licence to operate as a betting intermediary in Gibraltar and then being announced as an official World Cup partner.
A FIFA press release announcing the deal said that ADI Predictstreet will be “delivering a new interactive forecasting experience to fans across the planet” and that it would offer a “seamless and immersive experience throughout the FIFA World Cup”.
It continued: “ADI Predictstreet will also serve as the presenting partner for FIFA’s globally recognised free to play bracket challenge, enabling fans to predict how the tournament will unfold, compete with friends and engage more deeply with the action.”
“Seamless” and “immersive” aren’t exactly adjectives that ring true when it comes to ADI Predictstreet’s bewildering start to life, though.
The ADI Predictstreet whirlwind
The ADI Predictstreet leadership team has come under intense and well-documented scrutiny, but aside from that, its webpages have been somewhat of a mystery.
It was first launched as adipredictstreet.io, but the IP address for this now cannot be found.
Then, it looked like the company had changed its URL to adipredictstreet.com, which initially showed a landing page, followed by ‘test markets’ for certain Premier League games – with no money wagered. This address is now forbidding access, in the UK at least.
Which begs the question – what is the difference between this deal and ADI Predictstreet’s aim when it officially launched? And does the company still have plans to launch its own standalone website, or will it now operate solely in partnership with Fanatics?
The details of these announcements are confusing at best, and suspicious at worst.
A predictable US move
It was inevitable that ADI Predictstreet would try to gain some traction in the US, and in markets where predictions platforms are legal, despite some challenges against the products from US state gaming regulators.
This is because its sole betting intermediary license is in Gibraltar, meaning that, otherwise the business would only be able to sell its product to Gibraltarians – of whom there are around just 40,000.
Prediction markets in the US are regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), meaning that they are not classified as gambling products.
This is in contrast to many other parts of the world, which have ruled against the use of prediction markets unless they apply for licensing under the same regulations as traditional gambling companies.
A regulatory tug of war has been taking place in the US, however, with the CFTC being much more supportive of prediction platforms under the Trump administration, and now finding itself at loggerheads with the abovementioned state regulators – Nevada and Arizona, to name just two.
Whatever opinions people hold on prediction markets, it is clear that they are gaining a colossal amount of traction, as seen by Kalshi and Polymarket, the prediction markets’ flagbearers, gaining multi-billion-dollar valuations.
It seems that ADI Predictstreet is looking to use Fanatics Markets to tap into this audience just in time for the 2026 World Cup, which is now only a fortnight away.
On the deal, Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, said: “Fanatics has been building something unique; direct relationships with tens of millions of fans, across every team, every sport, every moment that matters to them.
“When ADI Predictstreet was looking for a U.S. partner, it was a natural conversation given the scale of our reach to fans. We are excited to bring that experience to Americans this summer.
“The World Cup Hub gives fans a more immersive way to follow the tournament in real time, combining content, data and prediction markets all in one experience.”
It is anyone’s guess as to what ADI Predictstreet’s next move will be. The hub on Fanatics Markets currently shows the ADI Predicstreet logo and, to be fair, is offering a wide array of markets.
Every group stage match within the next month is marketed, alongside a range of outright markets which users can “buy events contracts” for.
The company also recently struck a deal with entertainment giant DAZN, with DAZN announcing that it will integrate ADI Predictstreet into its platform in an attempt to enhance its ecosystem of live and on-demand sports viewing, real-time scores, news, betting, gaming and FanZone.
The destiny of ADI Predictstreet’s standalone platform remains to be seen, but this is the latest in what has become a series of confusing events since we first found out about the business when it gained a gambling licence in Gibraltar.
Some people could be forgiven for wondering whether FIFA would like another go at choosing an official prediction market partner for the World Cup…
ADI Predictstreet has been approached by SBC News for comment.