Just recently, UK-listed broker IG Group agreed to acquire U.S. prediction market and fantasy sports platform Underdog for approximately $1.3 billion. This is an important development because it signals much more than IG's geographic expansion into North America. It marks the arrival of one of the largest traditional retail brokers in the rapidly growing event-based trading market.
For at least a year, we have been asking how the growing popularity of prediction markets could affect the CFD industry. It now looks like we have the first clear response from a major CFD broker. Of course, IG is much more than a CFD provider, but CFDs remain an important part of its business and are at the heart of the company's origins. Who else can follow IG?
Robinhood Shows the Potential
Going back a few days, to the end of July, we received another important piece of news that makes IG's move easier to understand. If any company has demonstrated the potential of event trading, it is Robinhood. In its Q2 2026 results, the platform reported $156 million in revenue from event contracts, more than ten times the level recorded a year earlier.
Event contracts have become one of Robinhood's fastest-growing product lines, even outpacing more established areas such as crypto. With 13.6 billion event contracts traded in a single quarter, Robinhood has shown that retail traders are increasingly treating sports, macroeconomic decisions, and political outcomes as another tradable asset class.
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Broker Expansion into Prediction Markets
The convergence of traditional retail trading and event trading has accelerated significantly over the past year. Rather than building technology from scratch and spending years waiting for regulatory approvals, major market players are increasingly acquiring existing platforms and infrastructure.
- October 2025, DraftKings Acquires Railbird (DKeX): Gaming powerhouse DraftKings acquired CFTC-regulated Railbird Technologies, later rebranding it as DKeX to power its nationwide prediction markets engine directly inside its core app.
- January 2026, Robinhood & Susquehanna Buy MIAXdx (Rothera): Robinhood teamed up with quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group to acquire derivatives exchange MIAXdx from Miami International Holdings. Rebranded as Rothera, the joint venture gives Robinhood its own fully controlled, CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse.
- July 2026, IG Group Agrees to Acquire Underdog: IG Group committed $1.3 billion to buy Underdog, giving the UK CFD pioneer an immediate foot in the door to U.S. retail event trading.
Which Broker Could Move Next?
IG Group's acquisition of Underdog is likely to make other major retail brokers reconsider their product strategies. However, not every broker is equally well positioned to take advantage of the growing prediction market sector.
Full analysis with data can be found on the Finance Magnates Intelligence Portal.
