Fanatics has agreed to acquire two businesses from BGC Group—Water Street Labs and CX Clearinghouse—that are registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to support prediction market trading and settlement. Water Street Labs operates as a CFTC-registered designated contract market (DCM), according to the companies described in the reporting. CX Clearinghouse provides clearing infrastructure used to settle trades.
Fanatics says the acquisition will allow it to offer its own federally regulated prediction market exchange where it can list and settle event contracts. The deal also positions Fanatics to build an end-to-end model for prediction market offerings, similar to how other major sports-betting and gaming companies have sought footholds in the prediction market space.
The two outlets describe the transaction as part of a broader expansion effort in prediction markets, with Fanatics using the acquired CFTC-regulated infrastructure to support compliance and trading operations. Details on deal terms and timing are not included in the provided excerpts.
