Underdog will shut down its Drafts daily fantasy contests in seven states after the NFL kickoff on Wednesday, Sept. 9, surrendering licences in Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Customers who have already entered drafts will still be able to finish them, but no new competitions will be offered in those states after kickoff. The change covers every draft product, including best ball.
According to Saturday Down South, Jeremy Levine said the company is giving up the fantasy licences because those states told Underdog it could not offer both daily fantasy sports and prediction markets in the same jurisdiction. He said the business had been forced to choose between keeping the DFS licences and offering its full prediction-market experience, minus drafts.
Underdog launched its own federally licensed prediction-market exchange on 18 July after previously offering access through partnerships with Crypto.com and Kalshi. The company was founded in 2020 as a daily fantasy operator, and IG Group agreed in July to acquire it for about $1.3 billion.
The seven-state retreat comes amid a broader regulatory fight over prediction markets. Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio have taken a hard line against them, with lawsuits arguing that sports event contracts amount to illegal sports betting. Mississippi has not filed litigation, but Attorney General Lynn Fitch joined a bipartisan coalition asking the federal government to let states regulate sports event contracts.
In Pennsylvania, gaming chief Kevin F. O’Toole has warned that sports prediction markets could undermine the state’s carefully built sports-wagering market. Michigan regulators have said unlicensed sports prediction markets bypass consumer protections and create confusion for bettors, and they have continued to investigate and take further steps as needed.
As reported in July, Michigan regulators had already approved DraftKings’ shared poker platform across Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
