Sports Illustrated Launching Prediction Market After Sportsbook Bet Busted

Posted on: March 27, 2025, 08:18h. 

Last updated on: March 27, 2025, 09:46h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Sports Illustrated will launch SI Predict by the end of Q2 2025
  • SI Predict will offer sports-related contracts
  • SI previously bet on traditional sports betting

Sports Illustrated is readying a bet on the emerging prediction market industry where some federal and state regulators question the legality of allowing such platforms to accept wagers on sporting events. To satisfy that concern, SI won’t take bets on the outcomes of games, but on matters linked to the competitions like how long the singing of the National Anthem during the Super Bowl will run.

Sports Illustrated SI Predict prediction market
Sports Illustrated is entering the prediction market space with SI Predict. The wagering exchange will allow fans to bet on an array of sports-related events but not game outcomes. (Image: Sports Illustrated)

New York City-based Sports Illustrated is teaming up with London-based Galactic, a business-to-business prediction market platform, to launch SI Predict. The online wagering exchange, SI says, will deepen fan engagement “by allowing them to interact directly with lifestyle moments adjacent to live sports events.”

SI Predict won’t run prediction markets on whether the Lakers will win tonight’s NBA game, but instead, might offer a contract on whether ESPN host Stephen A. Smith will sit courtside again this season in Los Angeles after being confronted by LeBron James earlier this month.

James got in Smith’s face over remarks the television personality made about his son, Bronny James.

CFTC License

Prediction markets, led by Kalshi and Polymarket, came under regulatory scrutiny last year as both platforms sought to offer contracts on the outcome of the presidential election. No legal, regulated sportsbook in any of the 39 states and Washington, DC, where sports gambling is permitted, has been approved to offer odds on elections due to election integrity fears.

Further controversy ensued when prediction markets began offering derivative contracts on sports. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which governs derivatives markets on the federal level, will soon host a roundtable on sports-related event contracts.

SI Predict won’t be impacted since it won’t be offering contracts directly based on game outcomes. SI Predict will seek a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) license under the Commodity Exchange Act and comply with all CFTC regulations.

Sports Illustrated has always been about engaging fans in the stories that shape the world of sports,” said Dan Dienst, chair of Sports Illustrated. “With SI Predict, we’re excited to watch Galactic roll out its platform to fans and enthusiasts and enable them to express their insights beyond the sofa or neighborhood tavern and engage passionately with a more global audience on the content adjacent to the sport moments they love.”

SI Predict is anticipated to launch before the end of June 2025. SI Predict is already taking customer signups at sipredict.com.




SI Sports Betting Business

After the US Supreme Court in May 2018 opened the floodgates to legal sports betting, Sports Illustrated staked a major investment in the sports gaming industry.

SI partnered with British bookmaker and online gaming giant 888 Holdings to launch SI Sportsbooks and Casino. SI Sportsbook eventually operated in four states, but it failed to compete with market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel.

“Achieving sufficient scale in the US market to generate positive returns within an accelerated time frame is unlikely,” 888 CEO Per Widerström said in winding down the brand a year ago this month.

888 paid SI $50 million to dissolve the partnership.