Sportradar, one of the world’s biggest sportstech companies, has put its money where its mouth is by partnering with Kalshi, one of the two biggest prediction market platforms globally.

The global deal comes after months of speculation that Sportradar was going to launch in the predictions space, having already built up a considerable foothold in sports betting, and recently entering iGaming via the creation of a new division.

Swiss-headquartered Sportradar will provide Kalshi with solutions from its another newly created Sportsbook Predictions Services division, including official sports data and live odds, fan engagement solutions, customer acquisition solutions, and integrity services.

The package is very similar to the solutions Sportadar provides to its international bookmaker clients, including US market leading sportsbooks FanDuel and DraftKings – both of which made their own debuts in the US predictions space in December 2025.

Carsten Koerl, Chief Executive Officer of Sportradar, said: “Prediction markets represent a compelling growth engine for the global sports ecosystem and Sportradar is uniquely positioned to shape and power this emerging sector. 

“Our partnership with Kalshi extends the reach of our premium sports data and services into a rapidly evolving landscape, fostering collaboration with market makers and the broader marketplace. 

“This partnership with Kalshi marks a critical first step. We look forward to working with key prediction market participants as the landscape matures, establishing the trusted, compliant framework for sports innovation just as we have successfully delivered in online sports betting.”

Kalshi and Sportradar – a long-time coming?

Kalshi and Polymarket, the two largest prediction markets in the US and globally, were founded in 2018 and 2020 respectively. 

The latter was exiled from the US for many years under an agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), but was able to re-enter its homeland via an acquisition in 2025.

The two companies are now valued at a combined $37bn (£22.7bn) – $22bn for Kalshi and $15bn for Polymarket. Other companies like Crypto.com and Robinhood have also got involved in the sector, as have the abovementioned bookmakers, and Sportradar has been paying attention for some time.

Following the publication of its full year financial results in March this year, Koerl told analysts that Sportradar sees predictions as “a rapidly developing opportunity in the US”, an opportunity which it is “uniquely positioned to capitalise on”.

The company stated at the time that its data partnerships with the likes of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) could be useful for predictions – and this appears to have come to fruition.

Its deal with Kalshi will leverage data from the NHL, UFC, and Major League Soccer (MLS).

“The breadth and depth of this partnership is what makes it a big deal,” said Tarek Mansour, CEO of Kalshi. 

“We’re using official league data to ensure quicker trade settlements, creating an overall better customer experience. We’re also collaborating on an integrity monitoring programme to further protect our users.”

Considering the controversy…

The growth of prediction markets has not gone unnoticed by regulators, however. 

The platforms have attracted a fair share of controversy, particularly around the prospect of insider trading, something that has been pushed to the forefront by Polymarket offering markets on political and geopolitical events like the Iran War.

Various state regulators in the US – Nevada, Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois and New Mexico, for example – contend that the platforms are running illegal gambling operations, and are involved in litigation with the likes of Kalshi. Last month, Minnesota became the first state to ban predictions.

In contrast, the CFTC, the US federal derivatives regulator, has firmly placed itself in the predictions platforms’ corner under the second Trump presidency – a huge U-turn from its more standoffish approach during Biden’s administration.

Internationally, many other national regulators have taken stances against predictions – France, Belgium, Portugal, and Buenos Aires in Argentina, to name a few. 

Other governments, like Gibraltar and Liberia, are actively courting predictions. Gibraltar licensed its first predictions market platform in April, ADI Predictstreet, and the firm was soon unveiled as predictions partner of the World Cup.

All in all, the international regulatory landscape around predictions remains fragmented and controversial. However, the sector itself is undoubtedly valuable, as Kalshi and Polymarket’s valuations show, and Sportradar is just the latest B2B company to chase leads in the sector.

On an unrelated note, the deal comes about as Sportradar contends with some controversy of its own. The firm was subject to accusations of working with illegal gambling operations by two short seller companies two months ago, though it strongly denies any illicit activity.