Underdog launches wholly owned prediction exchange

• Underdog has launched its own CFTC-licensed prediction market exchange, UDX.
• The launch follows Underdog’s March 2026 acquisition of Aristotle Exchange DCM and DCO.
• UDX self-certified seven sports contract templates with the CFTC on July 15.

Underdog has launched its own CFTC-licensed prediction market exchange, moving its core product off the third-party venues it previously relied on.

The move follows the company’s March 2026 acquisition of Aristotle Exchange DCM, Inc. and Aristotle Exchange DCO, which handed Underdog Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization status under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Full vertical control

Underdog entered the prediction markets sector in September 2025 through a Crypto.com partnership, offering event contracts via that exchange and, subsequently, Kalshi. The Aristotle Exchange acquisition in March 2026 gave the company its own registered exchange and clearing infrastructure, the platform now operating as UDX.

Running its own exchange gives Underdog direct control over contract design, trading rules and settlement. Existing distribution partnerships are not formally ended, and the company frames the shift as a way to widen its offering beyond sports.

Jeremy Levine, CEO and co-founder of Underdog, said:

“Now with our own exchange, we’re going to unlock so much for more sports fans. Prediction markets are largely about sports, and Underdog is the best at sports.”

First contracts filed

UDX, the renamed Aristotle Exchange DCM, self-certified seven sports event-contract templates with the CFTC on July 15.

Self-certification means UDX attests the products comply with the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC rules, rather than the products receiving separate regulatory approval. The filings cover baseball and basketball markets built around game winners, winning margins and total scores, plus a broader template for individual athlete, team or event outcomes.

Contracts carry a $1 notional value and trade between $0.001 and $0.999, with position limits set for both participants and market makers. The filings also permit combining multiple outcomes using AND/OR logic, though Underdog avoids the term “parlay” in its documentation.

The filings state an intended listing date of no later than July 17, 2026. A separate public confirmation of live trading was not available at the time of reporting.

Wider exchange race

Underdog’s move mirrors a broader push toward vertical integration in the young US prediction market sector.

DraftKings, whose prediction market business was recently handed a $14 billion valuation estimate, launched its own exchange, DKeX, on June 26, moving its Predictions product off CME Group and Crypto.com and onto infrastructure it owns.

Underdog has also secured Futures Commission Merchant status, which the company says makes it the first US sports company holding the complete federal prediction market license stack, spanning exchange, clearinghouse and merchant registration.

Trading volume has scaled quickly since Underdog entered the category in September 2025. Figures the company presented alongside the launch put cumulative notional volume at roughly $6.5 billion, close to the $6.48 billion it attributed to Polymarket’s US arm over the same window and well ahead of DraftKings Predictions. The comparison reflects Underdog’s existing product rather than trading on the new UDX exchange itself.

With its own exchange now live, Underdog’s next test is whether it can convert regulatory control into product speed, expanding beyond sports into culture and event markets before rivals close the gap.