Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel brand is set to develop a new events contract platform in partnership with Chicago-based derivatives giant CME Group.
FanDuel and CME will form a new joint venture to operate a non-clearing futures commission merchant (FCM) that will facilitate access to financial markets for millions of FanDuel customers in the United States.
Expected to launch later this year, the products will include benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, prices of oil and gas, gold, cryptocurrencies, and key economic indicators such as GDP and CPI.
Further details of additional offerings will be determined in the coming months, with customers able to express their views multiple times a day on a wide range of markets with simple “yes” or “no” positions for as little as $1.
“Individual investors are increasingly sophisticated and continually pursuing new financial opportunities,” said CME Group chairman and CEO Terry Duffy. “To meet this demand, we have created this innovative partnership, which will operate a non-clearing FCM.
“Together, our event-based products will appeal to the growing public interest in markets, and we will provide education to attract a new generation of potential traders not active in derivatives today.”
FanDuel Group CEO Amy Howe commented: “Partnering with CME Group will unlock our ability to bring even more new and engaging products to FanDuel’s fast-growing customer base. We believe there is potentially a wide audience for trading event-based markets and we want to provide a platform that allows our customers to engage in this activity.
“We are excited to be partnering with CME Group to design new and engaging products, combining innovation with best-in-class regulatory compliance and consumer protections.”
Pending CFTC regulatory review, event contracts will be listed on and subject to the rules of CME exchanges and available through all participating FCMs.
Shares in FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment plc. (NYSE:FLUT) gained 1.30 per cent to close at $294.53 per share in New York Wednesday and were up a further 1.51 per cent in pre-market at $298.97 per share.