Stock Markets September 14, 2026 09:20 AM

Prediction markets post record weekend volumes as NFL betting dominates some platforms

Eight exchanges saw multi-billion-dollar activity over the weekend, with significant platform-level concentration in NFL contracts

By Derek Hwang
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Prediction markets reached new highs over the NFL weekend, with combined volumes across eight exchanges totaling $3.17 billion on Saturday and $3.12 billion on Sunday. Platform-level activity varied sharply: DKeX recorded strong single-day gains, Kalshi dominated total weekend volume, and Polymarket’s Sunday throughput trailed its World Cup daily average. Jefferies’ fee-model estimates point to meaningful but uneven revenue outcomes for exchanges from NFL-related trading.

Prediction markets post record weekend volumes as NFL betting dominates some platforms
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Key Points

  • Total trading across eight prediction-market exchanges hit $3.17 billion on Saturday and $3.12 billion on Sunday - markets and financial exchanges impacted.
  • DKeX set a new daily high with $137 million on Sunday while Kalshi accounted for $4.89 billion across the weekend - exchange operators and trading platforms impacted.
  • Jefferies’ fee-model estimates suggest NFL-related trading produced uneven revenue outcomes: about $1.1M for DKeX, $5.7M for Kalshi, and roughly $20k for Nadex - payments and exchange fee revenue impacted.

Overview

Prediction market activity hit record levels during the recent NFL weekend, according to analysis presented by Jefferies. Across eight exchanges, total traded volume reached $3.17 billion on Saturday and $3.12 billion on Sunday.

Exchange-by-exchange volume

DKeX reported $93 million in volume on Saturday and $137 million on Sunday, a new single-day peak for the platform. The Sunday figure outpaced DKeX’s prior all-time daily high by roughly $84 million. Kalshi accounted for $4.89 billion in volume across the two-day span, with trading split relatively evenly between Saturday and Sunday. Polymarket recorded $404 million in volume on Sunday, a pace below its World Cup daily average of $532 million.

NFL concentration across platforms

The share of trading tied to NFL contracts differed markedly by exchange. On Sunday, approximately 80% of DKeX’s volume was related to NFL contracts. By comparison, 39% of Kalshi’s activity was NFL-linked, while Nadex saw just 2% of its Sunday volume tied to NFL trading.

Estimated fee revenue and contract volumes

Using each exchange’s fee schedule, Jefferies estimated NFL-related trading produced about $1.1 million in revenue for DKeX, $5.7 million for Kalshi, and roughly $20,000 for Nadex. Those revenue estimates are based on contract volumes of $110 million for DKeX, $963 million for Kalshi, and $1.5 million for Nadex on Sunday.

DKeX’s Sunday NFL slate also generated an estimated $276,000 in maker fees. Jefferies noted that not all of that maker-fee figure represents incremental revenue for NASDAQ:DKNG, since some of the liquidity could have been supplied by affiliated market makers. Jefferies’ analysis further highlights that Kalshi’s Sunday volume was about 17 times larger than DKeX’s.

Implications and context

The weekend’s data illustrate both elevated overall demand for prediction-market trading and substantial variation in how that demand is allocated across platforms. While total traded amounts reached multi-billion-dollar levels, the distribution of NFL-related activity and the composition of liquidity providers influence how much revenue accrues to individual exchanges.

Data notes

All volume, contract, and revenue figures reflect Jefferies’ analysis and the fee schedules of the relevant exchanges. The breakdowns above are tied directly to the data points and estimates reported by Jefferies for the specific weekend in question.

Risks

  • Revenue estimates may overstate incremental income because some liquidity and maker fees may have been provided by affiliated market makers - impacts exchange revenue recognition and brokerage segments.
  • High concentration of NFL-related volume on specific platforms (for example, ~80% of DKeX’s volume) creates sensitivity to single-event demand swings - impacts exchanges and sports-betting linked services.
  • Volume volatility across platforms (Polymarket’s Sunday volume was below its World Cup daily average) indicates uneven demand patterns that could affect short-term trading revenues - impacts prediction market operators and market-making businesses.

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