Underdog review 2026: Adding predictions to DFS
Chris Jonat
Updated
Underdog built its own CFTC-regulated exchange in 2026, layering sports and pop-culture event contracts on top of its familiar pick'em app. This review covers everything you need to know, including the 50% first deposit match bonus.
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Quick facts: Underdog review
| Founded / parent company | 2020, by Jeremy Levine and Aaron Leyden; operates under Underdog Sports Holdings. |
| Headquarters | New York, NY |
| Regulator / licensing body | CFTC. Underdog Exchange (UDX) is run through UDM, LLC |
| Platform type | Prediction market exchange built into the same app as Underdog's daily fantasy pick'em contests. |
| Welcome bonus | 50% first deposit match, plus the "Keep Your Million" pick'em promo for new users |
| Promo code | CORG |
| Minimum first deposit | $10 |
| Minimum withdrawal | $10 |
| Trading fees | $0.02 flat fee per event contract; a $4/month inactivity fee applies after 18 months of no activity. |
| Deposit methods | Debit/credit card, Apple Pay, and bank transfer via Trustly. Venmo and PayPal fund the fantasy wallet but are not accepted for prediction-market deposits. |
| Withdrawal methods | Debit card, Apple Pay, and Trustly bank transfer |
| Payout speed | Typically 24 to 72 hours |
| Mobile app availability | iOS and Android, plus desktop web |
| Live/in-event trading | Yes, including the new Crash game and select in-game markets |
| Legal age | 18+ in most states; 19+ in Alabama and Nebraska; 21+ in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Virginia |
| Customer support channels | In-app live chat (fastest option) and email support |
My take on Underdog
Chris Jonat, Content Manager
"Underdog moved faster than almost any other fantasy operator to get its own exchange license, and it shows: the pricing is simpler than most rivals, but the state-by-state rollout is still more cautious than some prediction markets."
Pros
- Runs its own CFTC-licensed exchange instead of routing trades through a partner
- Pairs daily fantasy pick'em contests with prediction market contracts in one wallet
- A flat $0.02-per-contract fee is simpler to track than rivals' percentage-based fees
- The iOS app holds a 4.8-star rating across more than 317K+ reviews
Cons
- Limited state availability compared to other top platforms, like Polymarket
- The pending $1.3 billion sale to IG Group adds uncertainty about its product roadmap
What is Underdog?
Underdog started in 2020 as a daily fantasy sports app built around fast, simple pick'em contests, and it grew into one of the fastest-growing operators in the space, reaching a $1.23 billion valuation in 2025 on the back of funding from investors including Spark Capital, BlackRock, and Acies Investments.In 2026, the company pivoted hard toward prediction markets. It acquired the Aristotle Exchange's Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) licenses in March, then self-certified its first event-contract templates with the CFTC in July. On July 18, 2026, Underdog Exchange (UDX) went live inside the existing Underdog app, making Underdog the first sports-focused company to hold the full prediction market license stack (DCM, DCO, and Futures Commission Merchant, or FCM) under one roof.That matters for legitimacy: rather than white-labeling another company's exchange, Underdog now lists, clears, and settles its own sports event contracts, and answers directly to the CFTC for how that market runs. Trading works like a real exchange rather than a sportsbook. Contract prices move with supply and demand between $0.001 and $0.999, and a winning contract settles at $1. Weeks after UDX launched, trading platform IG Group agreed to buy Underdog for roughly $1.3 billion, a deal still pending as of this review. That shows how quickly the company's prediction market business has grown.
Underdog welcome bonus
New users can claim a 50% match on their first deposit by signing up with promo code CORG and making a minimum $10 deposit. Underdog also runs the Keep Your Million promo, where new users start with a virtual $1,000,000 bankroll across a series of player-prop questions; winnings are credited as bonus funds rather than withdrawable cash.Bonus funds typically carry a 1x playthrough requirement and expire 14 days after they're issued, and the deposit-match offer is not available to new users in every state. For the full terms and step-by-step redemption instructions, see our dedicated Underdog promo code page.
Stack your bonuses
"The deposit match is competitive for the category, but the real value for new users is that it stacks with the free pick'em promo instead of forcing a choice between them."
Content Manager
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Is Underdog legal in the US?
Underdog Exchange operates under a federal CFTC license rather than the state-by-state licensing model traditional sportsbooks use. In theory, that means UDX could trade nationwide once contracts are self-certified. In practice, Underdog has chosen a more conservative rollout than some rivals.This has resulted in some states not being eligible for bonuses. Notably, users in FL, HI, IA, ID, LA, ME, MT, NY, and WA cannot claim the 50% deposit match bonus.
Underdog's regulatory timeline
The regulatory landscape for Underdog is in flux. State availability has shifted significantly since the launch of the platform's prediction market. Check back here for regulatory updates.
Jul 30, 2026
Underdog acquisition
- IG Group announces a proposed $1.3 billion acquisition of Underdog.
Jul 18, 2026
UDX goes live in app
- Underdog Exchange (UDX) goes live inside the Underdog app.
Jul 15, 2026
Self-certification of first contracts
- Underdog self-certifies its first seven sports event-contract templates with the CFTC.
May 2026
New executive hire
- Underdog hires a former Crypto.com prediction-exchange executive and names Nick Lundgren as Chief Legal Officer.
March 2026
New license acquisitions
- Underdog acquires Aristotle Exchange's DCM and DCO licenses, the foundation of its own exchange.
This is a different legal question than the one readers usually ask about sportsbooks. Traditional sports betting requires a state license and is banned outright in a handful of states; Underdog's contracts are federally regulated derivatives, which is why they can appear in states such as California and Texas that don't allow commercial sports betting, while remaining voluntarily paused in some states that do.
Federal registration is an advantage for Underdog
"Federal registration gives Underdog a legal path into states sportsbooks can't reach, but 'federally legal' and 'available everywhere' are not the same thing, and this list is worth rechecking before you deposit."
Content Manager
Underdog security and licensing
Underdog Exchange trades are cleared through UDM, LLC, a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant, alongside the Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization licenses Underdog acquired from Aristotle Exchange. FCM registration carries NFA financial compliance obligations, including rules on segregating customer funds from company operating funds, similar to the standards that apply to traditional futures brokers.Underdog doesn't publish granular detail on its consumer-facing security stack (specific encryption standards or two-factor authentication options), so readers should check the app's account security settings directly. We found no major, publicly disclosed security incidents involving Underdog's platform as of September 2026.
Trust the FCM registration
"The FCM registration is the detail worth trusting here. It's the same regulatory bar that applies to how traditional futures brokers have to handle customer money, not a self-policed standard."
Content Manager
Underdog key features
Underdog's standout feature is structural: it's the only major app that puts daily fantasy pick'em contests and CFTC-regulated event contracts in the same wallet, so a single deposit can fund both. The Crash game, covered in detail below, is the newest example of that crossover.
Underdog's advantage is its player reach
"Most rivals are pure exchanges. Underdog's advantage is distribution, since it already has millions of fantasy players inside the app before they ever open the Predict tab."
Content Manager
Markets offered
Underdog's first CFTC-certified contract templates, filed July 15, 2026, cover baseball and basketball: game-winner, winning-margin, and total-score markets, plus a flexible template that lets a contract resolve on whether a named athlete, team, or entity hits a defined outcome (including AND/OR combinations that function like parlays). Live markets on the app span the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, tennis, and college football, with Underdog describing plans to expand into culture contracts and other event categories beyond sports over time.Fees and trading costs
Underdog charges a flat $0.02 fee per event contract traded, applied on both the buy and sell side regardless of the contract's price. There's no fee to deposit or withdraw, but accounts that sit untouched for 18 months or more are charged a $4 monthly inactivity fee. That flat-fee model is simpler than tiered, price-based schedules some competitors use, though it can work out to be relatively more expensive on contracts trading near $0.01 or $0.99, where a 2-cent fee is a larger share of the contract's price.Underdog Crash: How the new pitch-by-pitch MLB game works
On August 18, 2026, Underdog rolled out Crash, a live, in-game contest tied to a single MLB at-bat. It's the most arcade-like product Underdog has shipped, and it's built entirely around the multiplier mechanic popularized by online crash games, applied to real pitch-by-pitch baseball.How a Crash entry works:
- Pick an active matchup between a batter and the opposing pitcher and join before or during that at-bat. Your entry starts on the next pitch thrown.
- Every pitch that doesn't end the at-bat increases your multiplier. The longer the at-bat runs, the higher the multiplier climbs.
- You can cash out in the window between any two pitches to lock in your entry fee multiplied by the current multiplier.
- If the at-bat ends first (a strikeout, hit, walk, hit-by-pitch, or any other plate-appearance result) before you cash out, the entry "crashes" and is lost.
- If a call is overturned on replay review and the at-bat is reinstated, the entry is voided and refunded rather than scored as a crash.
Crash sits under fantasy sports rules
"Crash is a smart way to keep casual pick'em players engaged between games, but it's worth remembering it sits under fantasy sports rules, not the exchange license Underdog spent a year building. The two products can have different state availability."
Content Manager
How Underdog compares
Underdog competes directly with other CFTC-regulated prediction market apps chasing the same sports traders. Polymarket, ProphetX, and OG.com are useful points of comparison, since all three also list sports event contracts.
| Platform | Promo code | Welcome bonus | Min deposit | Availability snapshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underdog | CORG | 50% first deposit match + Keep Your Million promotion | $10 | Available in 40 states + DC; FL, HI, IA, ID, LA, ME, MT, NY, or WA excluded from the bonus |
| Polymarket | CORG | $50 trading bonus | $10 | Available in 48 states + DC; MI and NV excluded |
| ProphetX | CORG | $75 trading bonus | $50 | Available in 49 states + DC; NV excluded |
| OG.com | Sign up with our exclusive link | Trade $10, get $10 welcome bonus | $10 | Available in 48 states; NY and AZ excluded |
Underdog deposits and withdrawals
Underdog funds the prediction market wallet with a debit or credit card, Apple Pay, or a linked bank account through Trustly. Venmo and PayPal work for the fantasy pick'em wallet but currently aren't accepted for Predict deposits, which is a small friction point for anyone used to funding the DFS side that way.The minimum deposit and minimum withdrawal are both $10, and Underdog doesn't charge a fee on either direction. Withdrawals typically land back on a debit card, Apple Pay, or bank account within 24 to 72 hours. Unlike some crypto-based exchanges, funds aren't converted into a platform-specific token. Balances stay in US dollars throughout, which keeps the accounting simple but also means Underdog doesn't offer a stablecoin or on-chain settlement option.
No conversion step adds to convenience
"No conversion step and no withdrawal fee are the right defaults for a mainstream audience, even if it means Underdog skips the crypto rails some competitors lean on."
Content Manager
Underdog mobile app
iOS app
The Underdog iOS app holds a 4.8-star rating across more than 317K+ ratings on the Apple App Store, one of the stronger scores among prediction market and DFS apps. Most negative reviews center on withdrawal delays and account verification holds rather than the trading experience itself.Android app
On Google Play, the Android app sits at 4.6 stars from roughly 32.6K+ reviews. Recent feedback flags a buggy search function after a past update and complaints that push notifications persist even after users disable them in settings.App design
Underdog runs pick'em, Predict, and Crash out of one app with a single login and wallet, switching between them through a bottom tab bar. That single-wallet design is the app's biggest usability advantage over standalone exchange apps, since there's no separate account to fund before you can trade an event contract.Recent app improvements
Underdog's latest app releases have focused on folding Predict and Crash more tightly into the main navigation rather than treating them as a bolt-on section, alongside the usual round of bug fixes and performance updates that ship with nearly every release.The app finds a good balance
"The app doesn't feel like three products stitched together, which is the hardest part to get right when you bolt a CFTC exchange onto a fantasy sports app. This is similar to how it feels to use DraftKings Predictions in the traditional DraftKings Sports app."
Content Manager
Underdog customer service
Underdog offers two support channels: in-app live chat, which the company says is the fastest way to get help, and email support. There's no published phone line. User reviews describe email responses arriving within roughly 24 hours, with some reports of a second wait if the first reply doesn't resolve the issue. Underdog's help center covers most common account, deposit, and eligibility questions in enough depth that many users won't need to contact support at all.
Underdog in the news
Keep up with everything new that happens with the Underdog predictions app.
Aug 18, 2026
Crash launch
- Underdog launches Crash, its first live pitch-by-pitch MLB contest.
Jul 30, 2026
Underdog acquisition, pending review
- Trading company IG Group announces a proposed $1.3 billion acquisition of Underdog, a deal still pending as of this review.
Jul 18, 2026
UDX launch
- Underdog Exchange (UDX) launches inside the Underdog app, making Underdog the first sports company to hold the full DCM/DCO/FCM license stack.
Our verdict
Underdog earned a legitimate CFTC-licensed exchange faster than most of its fantasy-sports peers and pairing it with an existing pick'em audience gives it real distribution advantages, but the platform is still finding its footing on state availability. The pending IG Group deal adds uncertainty about where the product goes next.
Overall rating: 3.9/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Underdog FAQs
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Content Manager
Chris has been working in iGaming for 15 years. He has previously worked on online casinos, sportsbooks, iPoker, and the crypto industry, all of which help inform his expert coverage of the emerging prediction markets scene. We may earn a small commission from some links, but Chris's trustworthy insights are always impartial, helping you make the best decision.
Chief Gaming Officer at Casino.org
As a fact-checker, and our Chief Gaming Officer, Alex Korsager verifies all prediction market details on this page. He manually compares our pages with the prediction app, and if anything is unclear, he contacts the operator. In short, Alex ensures you can make an informed and accurate decision.
