Polymarket Partners With Major US Soccer League

Polymarket has inked a multi-year deal with Major League Soccer, the top-level soccer league in the US, to be the exclusive prediction market partner for the league and its main tournament, the Leagues Cup.

The MLS and Polymarket said on Monday that they will work together to create “new fan experiences” such as second-screen engagement, which typically includes data, statistics, or betting.

“As soccer’s audience continues to grow and evolve in the US, fans are looking for new ways to engage more deeply with the game,” said Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan. 

“We can surface real-time collective sentiment around key moments, matches, and season-long storylines, giving fans a more interactive, data-driven way to experience the game and engage with the world’s most popular sport,” he added. 

The companies said the partnership comes amid “sustained momentum” for the sport, as the FIFA World Cup is set to be held in North America and Mexico later this year.

The deal marks another major partnership for prediction market operators, who have inked deals to be included in other major sports leagues, in news content, and Google’s flagship search engine tool.

The MLS and Polymarket said the deal includes safeguards “designed to protect the integrity of MLS and Leagues Cup matches,” including independent monitoring of trading activities.

Prediction market volumes rise amid legal battles

Volumes on the major platforms Polymarket and Kalshi have continued to hit all-time highs after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission gave its green light to prediction markets, even as many US states are fighting to restrict them.

Kalshi has pulled ahead of Polymarket for volume, seeing a record weekly tally of $2.15 billion for the week starting Jan. 12, according to Token Terminal.