Robinhood Adds Pro and College Football to Its Prediction Markets Hub

The update announced via the company’s Newsroom, brings trading access to all regular-season NFL matchups alongside college games involving Power 4 conferences, Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12 and key independents like Notre Dame.

“Football is far and away the most popular sport in America,” said JB Mackenzie, Robinhood’s VP & GM of Futures and International. “Adding pro and college football to our prediction markets hub is a no-brainer for us as we aim to make Robinhood a one‑stop shop for all your investing and trading needs.”

Launched initially with contracts covering the first two weeks of both seasons, Robinhood plans to roll out additional weekly matchups throughout the season. These contracts operate differently from traditional sports bets: they are event contracts, meaning prices are determined by supply and demand dynamics in a financial-style marketplace, rather than fixed odds set by a bookmaker. Users can adjust or exit their positions in real time, even during games, before the contract expires.

Robinhood’s entry into prediction markets began with election contracts in late 2024 and evolved into a formal Prediction Markets Hub. Since that expansion, the app has facilitated over 2 billion event contracts, spanning topics like cryptocurrency, economic indicators, culture, and financial policy, underscoring Robinhood’s ambition to enable its users to trade, invest, or hold virtually any asset.

Behind the technology lies KalshiEX LLC, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission–regulated exchange, which hosts the event contracts. Robinhood itself serves as a registered futures commission merchant through its subsidiary, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC. The company makes clear that these football contracts are not sports bets, nor are they endorsed by any athletic leagues or teams.

Robinhood's effort to expand into sports prediction markets follows its strategic venture into event trading more broadly. Earlier in 2025, the company launched its Prediction Markets Hub in partnership with Kalshi, enabling customers to trade on high-profile events such as Fed rate decisions and the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.

However, navigating the regulatory landscape remains a challenge. Robinhood emphasizes that event contracts are regulated as financial commodities and not subject to state sports betting laws. Yet such distinctions are under scrutiny, particularly as similar platforms like Kalshi face legal pushback, notably from states like Nevada, which have demanded an end to event contracts without state gaming licenses.

Robinhood hopes to mitigate compliance risks through close collaboration with regulators. A previous rollout attempt for football prediction during the Super Bowl was scrapped after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) intervened. This time, the company underscores that event contracts will operate within the CFTC‑regulated framework, with added disclosures on eligibility, risks, and contract mechanics.

Analysts have described Robinhood’s move as part of a broader trend they call the “gamblification” of finance, the rise of speculative products that blur the line between investing and wagering. Critics caution that such markets could expose inexperienced retail investors to higher risks, particularly given the fast-moving, real-time nature of these contracts. Robinhood’s CEO, Vlad Tenev, has defended the initiative, arguing that prediction markets function as channels for faster and more decentralized information, but regulators continue to scrutinize how closely such products resemble gambling.