FanDuel Just Filed to Become Its Own Prediction Market Exchange — Without CME

FanDuel has quietly made a move that could reshape its long-term position in the prediction markets space. On April 9, 2026, the company filed a new entity called “New Ventures III” with the National Futures Association, registering it as a Futures Commission Merchant. What makes this filing significant is what is absent: CME Group, FanDuel’s existing joint venture partner, is not involved.

The filing was first spotted by PredictionMarketPulse and reported publicly by CDC Gaming on April 17, 2026. At first glance, it reads as a routine corporate registration. But in the context of FanDuel’s aggressive push into prediction markets, it looks like something much bigger: the largest sportsbook in the United States may be laying the groundwork to operate its own prediction market exchange entirely independent of any existing infrastructure partner.

Understanding the Joint Venture That Already Exists

In August 2025, FanDuel and CME Group announced a joint venture to offer financial event contracts through a new product called FanDuel Predicts promo. The partnership gave CME Group a 51 percent stake and FanDuel 49 percent, with the platform offering contracts tied to major financial benchmarks including the S&P 500, Nasdaq, crude oil, cryptocurrency prices, and key economic indicators. FanDuel Predicts launched as a CFTC-regulated alternative to sports betting, targeting the company’s existing base of 12 million or more active users.

The CME partnership gave FanDuel a credible regulated entry point into prediction markets quickly. CME’s designated contract market status, its regulatory relationships, and its deep financial infrastructure all made it the obvious partner for a sportsbook without a CFTC footprint. But partnership structures come with constraints: shared economics, shared governance, and dependence on a partner whose primary business is institutional finance, not consumer wagering.

What the New Ventures III Filing Actually Means

An FCM, or Futures Commission Merchant, is a CFTC-registered entity that can solicit and accept orders for futures and options contracts and accept money from customers in connection with those transactions. FCM registration is the regulatory foundation required to operate as a standalone participant in the CFTC-regulated event contract ecosystem. Without it, a company must route through a partner who holds that status.

By filing its own FCM registration — separate from the CME joint venture — FanDuel appears to be building infrastructure that would allow it to list contracts on any designated contract market or, ultimately, to seek its own DCM designation and operate a fully independent prediction market exchange. The move mirrors what Kalshi and Polymarket have done in establishing their own regulatory standing rather than relying on third-party platforms.

FanDuel CEO Amy Howe has repeatedly emphasized the company’s commitment to giving users access to regulated prediction markets, framing it as a natural extension of the FanDuel ecosystem. An independent FCM filing is consistent with that long-term positioning: controlling your own regulatory infrastructure means controlling your own destiny on product design, economics, and user experience.

The Competitive and Regulatory Landscape

The prediction markets space is moving fast. Kalshi and Polymarket are the established players, with Kalshi in particular holding a CFTC-regulated DCM designation that allows it to offer event contracts ranging from election outcomes to Federal Reserve rate decisions. Both platforms have drawn scrutiny from Congress amid concerns about insider trading by politically-connected individuals, with more than ten bills introduced in 2026 alone seeking to restrict or regulate the industry.

The CFTC launched a formal Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in March 2026, with the comment period closing April 30, 2026. That regulatory process is likely to produce new rules governing what types of contracts can be offered, how platforms must handle insider trading, and what disclosures are required of participants. A company with its own FCM registration will be better positioned to engage with and respond to that rulemaking than one that relies entirely on a partner’s infrastructure.

For FanDuel, the strategic logic is clear. Its 12 million active users represent a distribution advantage that neither Kalshi nor Polymarket can match. If FanDuel can pair that user base with the ability to list and clear its own event contracts, it becomes a vertically integrated prediction market operator with a consumer reach no pure-play competitor comes close to matching. The CME joint venture may have been the entry point. New Ventures III may be the endgame.

What Comes Next

FCM registration is a process, not an instant green light. The NFA reviews applications, verifies capital requirements, and conducts due diligence before approving registration. FanDuel’s April 9 filing does not mean New Ventures III is operational, and it does not necessarily signal an imminent launch of an independent exchange. What it does signal is intent and preparation at the regulatory infrastructure level.

Whether FanDuel ultimately uses New Ventures III to compete directly with FanDuel Predicts, to expand the joint venture’s capabilities, or to position for a post-CFTC rulemaking landscape, the filing makes one thing clear: FanDuel is not content to be a distribution channel for someone else’s prediction market infrastructure. It wants to own the rails.