FanDuel Predicts Launches in Alabama Despite State's Sports Betting Ban

FanDuel has rolled out FanDuel Predicts in Alabama, giving residents access to paid sports-event prediction markets, despite the state's long-standing prohibition on sports betting. The platform launched in late 2025, with entry into Alabama part of its initial five-state rollout, and is regulated under federal oversight. 

The new platform is one of many prediction market apps regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees commodities and derivatives trading. However, similar to regulated sportsbooks, the platform includes identity verification, deposit limits, and self-exclusion tools. 

Because the product is a federally regulated trading activity, it is permitted to operate in jurisdictions where sports betting remains illegal, including Alabama.

Alabama State lawmakers have acknowledged that the launch highlights gaps in existing law. Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels indicated that, while federally regulated prediction markets are not new, their application to sports outcomes is a scenario the Legislature has not directly addressed. 

Alabama has repeatedly debated gambling expansion, including proposals for a state lottery, casino gaming, and sports wagering, including with a 2024 bill that failed by one vote.

Enforcement efforts have continued to target illegal gambling operations. Attorney General Steve Marshall has continued his efforts against unregulated slot machines and other unlawful operations.

In contrast to Alabama and Georgia, their regional neighbors differ. There are legal Louisiana sports betting, Mississippi sports betting, Florida sports betting, and Tennessee sports betting markets.

Responsible gaming concerns follow expansion

As the best sports betting sites operators launch prediction markets, the initial releases were found not to include the full range of responsible gaming tools available on their sportsbook platforms.

Early versions offered by DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel allowed users to set spending limits and lock accounts. Still, they lacked features such as information on a gambling addiction hotline, detailed session tracking, and comprehensive visuals of betting history.

FanDuel has since confirmed that it added the Problem Gambling support hotline, run by the National Council on Problem Gambling, to both its app and website, although references within the app avoid explicit use of gambling terminology. 

Industry observers linked these omissions to the legal framework underpinning prediction markets. To qualify for exclusive federal oversight, companies characterize the products as financial instruments rather than gambling. 

Under the Commodity Exchange Act, the CFTC is restricted from approving contracts tied to gaming. Implementing a full suite of gambling safeguards could undermine claims that the products fall outside state gambling law.

The operators consistently describe user activity as trading rather than betting, despite the apps closely resembling sportsbooks and being structured so that most retail participants lose money over time. 

This has led advocacy groups to raise concerns that the standards of responsible gaming have been taken less seriously in the wake of companies expanding their reach into a new market operating under a different regulatory framework.

The National Council on Problem Gambling called on operators of prediction markets to follow the same standard of protection as other sportsbooks, as risks to consumers persist despite regulatory status.