Robinhood is backing its prediction market ambitions with more money. The company announced Tuesday that it will take minority equity stakes in Crypto.com and OG while adding OG as another venue for some of its football event contracts. The agreement gives Robinhood another piece of prediction market infrastructure just as the NFL season gets underway.
This is more than another routing agreement. Robinhood is investing directly in two companies helping support its growing event contract business, tying its financial interests more closely to the infrastructure behind those trades. With customers already trading more than 45 billion contracts since Robinhood launched prediction markets roughly two years ago, that business is becoming difficult to treat as a side product.
Robinhood Adds Another Exchange to the Mix
Starting Sept. 8, selected football contracts will begin routing through OG's CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearinghouse. OG joins Kalshi, ForecastEx and Rothera as venues supporting event contracts available through Robinhood. Which venue handles a particular contract can depend on factors including product availability.
Robinhood says spreading activity across multiple exchanges should create a more resilient marketplace. That approach also means the company does not need to build its own exchange infrastructure to keep expanding. Instead, Robinhood can focus on the consumer-facing experience while working with several federally regulated venues behind the scenes.
The new arrangement gives Robinhood access to:
- Another CFTC-regulated event contract venue
- Additional football market infrastructure
- Equity stakes in Crypto.com and OG
- More flexibility when routing future contracts
- Potential infrastructure for additional election markets
Prediction Markets are Becoming Serious Business
The numbers help explain why Robinhood is investing further. Customers traded 13.6 billion event contracts during the second quarter, while the World Cup alone accounted for more than 5 billion. More than 30 billion contracts have already traded through August this year.
Event contracts also generated a record $156 million in second-quarter revenue for Robinhood. That makes prediction markets an increasingly meaningful part of the company's business rather than simply another feature inside its app. Football now gives Robinhood another major test of just how much that activity can grow.
Robinhood Gets More Than a Routing Partner
The equity component makes this agreement particularly interesting. Robinhood's stakes will be valued in line with Citadel Securities' recent investment that valued Crypto.com at $20 billion. OG, which recently became independent from Crypto.com, carries a $5 billion valuation under the arrangement.
Robinhood now has a reason to care about more than simply getting contracts onto its platform. If OG attracts additional volume and grows as an exchange, Robinhood participates in some of that upside as an owner. You are essentially watching the company build relationships across several layers of the prediction market ecosystem.
Football Is Only Part of the Expansion
Robinhood is also improving its football experience with live data and a dedicated hub. Another dedicated hub is being prepared for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, with state and federal race contracts expected to feature prominently. Some future contracts could also be routed through Crypto.com and OG infrastructure.
That broader strategy matters because Robinhood already brings a massive retail financial audience to prediction markets. Instead of committing everything to one exchange partner, it is assembling multiple routes to keep expanding its event contract lineup.
The Trade Handle Prediction Markets Take
We think the equity stakes are the most important part of this announcement. Robinhood is no longer simply distributing prediction market products from outside exchanges. It is starting to own pieces of the infrastructure supporting them.
That gives Robinhood more flexibility as competition between exchanges increases and prediction markets become a larger revenue source. With 45 billion contracts already traded through its platform, Robinhood has plenty of incentive to keep building. Taking stakes in Crypto.com and OG suggests it wants exposure to both the customers making trades and the infrastructure handling them.