Robinhood Nixes Super Bowl Bets, Complies with CFTC Request

Posted on: February 4, 2025, 03:33h. 

Last updated on: February 4, 2025, 03:33h.

A day after saying it would offer event contracts on the Super Bowl, Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) said it’s canceling that plan for the time being in order to comply with a request from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Robinhood
A sample Robinhood image on a mobile phone. The brokerage firm said it’s delaying its Super Bowl betting contracts. (Image: Bloomberg)

The brokerage firm acknowledged receiving a request from the commission to halt its Super Bowl event contracts. On Monday, the company announced it was partnering with Kalshi — one of the biggest names in prediction markets — to offer event contracts on the Super Bowl through its Robinhood Derivatives platform. Like futures and options, event contracts are classified as derivatives.

We are disappointed by this outcome, especially given that we had been in regular communication with the CFTC about our intent and plans to offer this product,” according to Robinhood.

The financial services firm added it will continue to work with the CFTC as it aims to roll out “a more comprehensive event contracts platform” at some point this year. California-based Robinhood broke into the event contracts space ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The company said the Super Bowl menu was offered to about 1% of customers and those that placed bets yesterday will have the chance to exit those positions.

Robinhood Bows to CFTC, Rivals Don’t

News of Robinhood agreeing to delay its Super Bowl betting slated arrived less than 24 hours after the CFTC said it’s launching inquiries into comparable offerings from Crypto.com and Kalshi.

Last month, the commission said it planned to examine the sports event contracts offered on Crypto.com after the trading platform said it would not comply with a request to delay those trading vehicles so the CFTC could launch a review. The cryptocurrency brokerage firm said it planned to continue offering the derivative while working with the CFTC on its review. Crypto.com pulled two of the sports contracts while self-certifying another.

Kalshi has also signaled it plans to proceed with offering sports event contracts despite the CFTC’s probe. Some legal experts believe the definition of gaming under the purview of the Commodities Exchange Act could create legal pathways for the brokerage houses to offer sports event contracts. Gaming isn’t defined as the completion on the field but rather the act of engaging in competition for stakes.

That could open the door Crypto.com and Kalshi to self-certify sports even contracts — something the CFTC appears intent on challenging.

CFTC Leadership Change Could Help

Robinhood’s call to work with the CFTC “to understand their concerns” regarding sports event contracts could be a prudent move and one that could be look upon favorably by the regulator in the future, but other factors could open the door to broader sports contract offerings.

Namely, CFTC’s inquiries into the Crypto.com and Kalshi contracts were initiated prior to President Trump taking office. Consensus is emerging that new leadership at the commission won’t be as restrictive as the prior team, indicating sports event contracts may ultimately be approved.

Robinhood delivers fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, Feb. 12 and that could be an opportunity for the fintech company to elaborate on its sports betting plans.