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Prophet Exchange Closing, at Least for Now

Sean Tomlinson

Last Updated: June 27, 2024 1:21 PM EDT • 1 min 25 sec read.

New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period at Prudential Center as we look at Prophet Exchange leaving New Jersey.
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period at Prudential Center. Photo by Ed Mulholland/USA TODAY Sports.

Prophet Exchange is in transition after becoming the first peer-to-peer legal sports betting exchange in the United States. It's been a form of competition for the best sportsbooks.

The company launched in the New Jersey sports betting scene in August 2022, and it's now been shut down, at least temporarily.

A recent thread on X documents the reason, and although details are vague, the company hints at a comeback soon.

"The regulated environment, which is essentially written by and for sportsbooks, is NOT conducive to a pro-consumer betting platform," the company wrote. "The regulated environment wants users to lose, and will either ban or limit users who win consistently."

Quick rise of a unique approach

The aim of Prophet Exchange is to be consumer centric, and an alternative to the best sports betting sites.

It offers a platform in which users set prices for other betters to wager on daily. There was a rapid rise in interest, with Super Bowl LVII generating $1 million in wagers through one of the then newest betting sites. The startup also secured $10 million in funding during April 2023.

The approach is more common in Europe, but hasn't fully latched on in North America, perhaps due to the issues the company outlines amid an industry that behemoths like FanDuel and DraftKings rule. Prophet Exchange was one of two such operations in New Jersey, where books offer New Jersey sportsbook promos.

Harsh words

Prophet Exchange may no longer be among the New Jersey sports betting apps, but the company still seems to promise an absence that's only temporary.

"We believe in a FAIR betting environment and we are coming back with a brand new product that will be more widely available to the masses," the company also wrote on its X thread.

Whether Prophet Exchange can resurface again as a successful competitor against the best sports betting apps remains to be seen. But the model generated user interest, with the company saying $200 million was traded on the platform, claiming to make money only when users win.

However, the difficulty in relaunching is that the options for an exchange are highly limited. Unlike in the United Kingdom, where there are many avenues for success, only New Jersey permits the format right now, though bills potentially coming down the pipeline in other states.

Written By:
Sean Tomlinson
Sean Tomlinson has been in the sports media wilderness since 2009, and he joined Sportsbook Review in 2021. His work has been referenced in The New York Times and Forbes. He's also made appearances on The Fan 590 and TSN 1050. Sean is a regular bettor who places bets daily while using a handful of books. Most frequently, he uses FanDuel and bet365 due to the quality experience on those apps. While he'll often take an analytical approach, Sean enjoys the fun, recreational side of betting too, and embraces alternative markets on events like the Westminster Dog Show or Eurovision, or the many novelty props tied annually to the Super Bowl, for example. Beyond sports, Sean is also interested in the betting markets tied to politics, and especially those connected to American elections. He sees betting as a way to explore and engage in a deeper way, and takes that same view to his work. He plays poker periodically too, and is an avid fantasy sports player. Sean also previously spent time with Bleacher Report and theScore, all after earning his media studies degree from the University of Guelph-Humber.