DraftKings and FanDuel Exit Utah Event Contracts
Major sports betting operators DraftKings and FanDuel have abruptly halted their event contract offerings for customers in Utah, reacting to the state's recent criminal charges against Kalshi's co-founders.
DraftKings suspended sports, novelty, and political prediction contracts for users physically located in the state, with FanDuel following suit on Friday morning. The companies' statements to Legal Sports Report and Front Office Sports were highlighted in a Friday report by Dustin Gouker at The Event Horizon. The swift exit underscores the chilling effect of Utah's aggressive regulatory crackdown on prediction markets, which recently escalated to felony gambling promotion charges against Kalshi executives.
Kalshi Reveals $1 Trillion Annualized Volume
The retreat from Utah contrasts sharply with the broader sector's explosive financial growth. In a blog post detailing its recent $1 billion Series G funding round, Kalshi disclosed that its overall annualized trading volume now exceeds $1 trillion. The platform reported having over 30 million accounts and claims to process more than 75% of all prediction market trading volume.
Kalshi's rapid diversification beyond sports has driven much of this growth. The exchange reported $1 billion in non-sports annualized revenue, with its commodities business generating over $100 million in annualized trading fees in just three months. Additionally, its newly launched perpetual futures business has already reached $83 billion in trading volume across 500,000 traders, while crypto trading volume hit $140 billion annualized.
As the industry scales, the operational mechanics of these platforms are facing increased scrutiny from users and regulators alike. A Saturday analysis by The Defiant Team at The Defiant examined the structural differences between major operators, noting that exchange reviews, oracle challenges, and deposit holds create vastly different paths from a winning position to successfully withdrawing funds. Traders evaluating these differences often rely on Kalshi vs. Polymarket comparisons and specialized Kalshi tools to navigate the complex settlement processes and regulatory restrictions across jurisdictions.