"The Super Bowl is supposed to be the highlight of the calendar for gambling companies. This year, though, a cloud has descended over the industry as the big game approached. The stock of Flutter Entertainment Plc, which runs one of the most popular US gambling apps, FanDuel, is on an eight week skid, the longest in 23 years. It's main competitor, DraftKings, is trading around the lowest levels since 2023, and is down more than 60% from its all-time high five years ago."
"The matchup between Seattle-New England - with less celebrity appeal than last year's Taylor Swift-soaked event - is partly to blame. But the bigger concern hanging over the industry is the rise of prediction markets like Kalshi, which have come out of nowhere over the last year to offer a new way to bet on sports, bypassing the state-level gambling regulations that have restricted the spread of older gambling apps."
Super Bowl betting momentum faded as major gambling stocks slid: Flutter entered an eight-week decline, the longest in 23 years, and DraftKings trades near 2023 lows, down over 60% from its five-year high. The Seattle–New England matchup had less celebrity draw than last year, reducing casual betting. Rapid growth of prediction markets like Kalshi has diverted wagers by offering new sports-betting mechanisms that bypass state-level gambling regulations. Prediction markets are expected to record strong trading volumes during the Super Bowl while legal sportsbooks’ handle may drop about 2% year-over-year. Kalshi leveraged federal exchange status to sell niche contracts tied to pop culture and elections.
Read at Fortune
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