The sports betting industry just got a whole lot more interesting, degenerates.

Robinhood — yes, the stock trading app your cousin used to lose money on GameStop — announced on Tuesday that users can now place what are essentially parlay bets on NFL games. And player props. And pretty much everything else that makes Sunday football worth watching.

DraftKings and FanDuel are officially on notice.

The Quick Hit

• What happened: Robinhood launched NFL parlay "combos" and player prop betting through its prediction markets platform
• The damage: Their stock is up 220% in 2025, prediction markets are their biggest revenue driver
• Why you should care: This could fundamentally change how sports betting works in America
• The move: Pay attention to this space — the prediction markets war is just getting started

What Robinhood Is Actually Doing

Starting December 16, Robinhood users can:

• Trade preset combinations of NFL game outcomes, totals, and spreads (basically parlays)
• Bet on individual player performances in real time
• Place prop bets on things like "will this player score a touchdown"
• Soon: create custom combos of up to 10 outcomes across NFL games

This isn't technically "sports betting" according to Robinhood. It's "event contracts." It's "prediction markets." It's definitely not gambling, wink wink.

The distinction matters because prediction markets are regulated by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), not state gaming commissions. Which means Robinhood can offer this stuff in ALL 50 STATES — including the ones where sports betting is still illegal.

Yes, you read that right. Someone in Texas can't use DraftKings, but they CAN use Robinhood to bet on whether the Cowboys cover the spread.

The Numbers Are Insane

Robinhood's prediction markets business has exploded:

• $100 million in annualized revenue
• 11 billion contracts traded
• 1 million+ customers
• On pace to become a $300 million business based on October figures
• November saw 3 billion contracts traded — up 20% from October

For context, prediction markets launched on Robinhood in late 2024, right before the presidential election. In about a year, it's become their fastest-growing product.

States Are PISSED

Not everyone is happy about this. Several states have sent cease-and-desist letters:

• Connecticut ordered Robinhood, Kalshi, and Crypto.com to stop offering "unlicensed sports wagering"
• New Jersey and Nevada have both taken action
• Arizona, Illinois, Montana, and Ohio have gone after Kalshi (Robinhood's partner)

Robinhood's response? Sue the states. They've filed federal lawsuits arguing that their event contracts fall under CFTC jurisdiction, not state gambling regulations.

The Wisconsin Ho-Chunk Nation even filed a lawsuit claiming that 18-year-old high school students could place bets on their phones. Which, technically, they can — the minimum age for Robinhood is 18, not 21 like most sportsbooks.

Why This Threatens DraftKings and FanDuel

Here's the thing: Robinhood is MASSIVE. By market value, they're bigger than every publicly traded gaming company.

They have:

• $23 billion in cash on hand
• An existing user base of millions of retail investors
• A mobile app that people already have on their phones
• The willingness to fight states in court

DraftKings and FanDuel, meanwhile, are abandoning Nevada and leaving the American Gaming Association just to launch their OWN prediction markets platforms. They know the threat is real.

Bank of America analyst Julie Hoover said it bluntly: "We think a large tech company such as Robinhood investing more in the space is a competitive threat to DraftKings and FanDuel."

The Legal Question Nobody Can Answer

Is this gambling or investing?

Robinhood says it's investing. You're trading event contracts, just like you'd trade stock options. The CFTC regulates it. It's financial services, not gaming.

States say it's gambling. You're betting on the outcome of sporting events. That's literally the definition of sports betting.

The courts will eventually decide, but in the meantime, millions of people in "non-betting" states are using Robinhood to place what sure as hell look like sports bets.

The Bottom Line

The prediction markets revolution is here, and Robinhood is leading the charge.

Whether you think this is a clever legal loophole or a legitimate new way to trade, one thing is clear: the sports betting industry will never be the same. The traditional sportsbooks are scrambling, states are suing, and users are betting.

Is it legal? Depends on who you ask. Is it happening? Absolutely.

Welcome to the future of sports betting, degenerates. It looks a lot like a stock trading app.