Best Prediction Markets for Sports in 2026: Fees, Access and Liquidity Ranked

Takeaways

• All-round choice: Kalshi. Federally licensed since 2020, about $40 billion traded in August 2026, the busiest markets, and you can reach it through Robinhood, Webull and Interactive Brokers.

• Best value: Novig. The cheapest for a single-outcome bet placed before a game, with no commission at all, and the only one offering parlays. It does charge on parlays and live bets.

• Best for posting orders: Polymarket. Posting a price earns you a rebate instead of a fee, and heavy traders get 10% to 50% of their fees back.

• Best reach: DraftKings Predictions. It lists sports contracts in states including California and Texas, where no other legal mobile sportsbook operates.

Caveats

• All of them undercut a sportsbook. A standard -110 line on both sides keeps about 4.55%, and FanDuel's parent reported a blended margin of 12.9% across its US book.

• Availability is unsettled. Federal appeals courts split in August 2026 and New Jersey asked the Supreme Court to intervene on 2 September 2026.

• Age limits differ: Novig is 21. Kalshi, Polymarket and DraftKings Predictions all set 18.

The Rankings

We weighted cost per trade (30%), how busy each platform is (25%), what you can bet on (20%), licensing and availability (15%), and track record (10%). All five are federally licensed and require full ID checks, because they are regulated as financial products rather than as gambling.

What Is a Prediction Market?

A prediction market is a venue where traders buy and sell contracts on whether something happens. Each contract pays $1.00 if it does and nothing if it doesn't, and trades between 1c and 99c in the meantime. The price is the market's estimate of the odds: a contract at 72c means traders collectively put the chance at 72%.

How Do the Fees Compare?

Kalshi and Polymarket both charge the most on a coin flip and much less on a heavy favorite. Buy 100 contracts at 50c and you have $50 at risk.

On that $50 position Kalshi takes $1.75, or 3.5% of your stake. Polymarket takes $1.50, or 3%. Novig takes nothing, provided the game hasn't started and you're backing a single outcome. You pay once if you hold to the end, since neither charges when a contract settles. Sell early and that's a second trade with its own fee.

Novig's zero fee has limits. It charges on parlays and on anything placed while a game is running, and in quiet markets it takes the other side itself, so the price can be worse. Post a price on Polymarket and wait for someone to take it, and you earn about 31c per 100 contracts, plus 10% to 50% of your fees back if you bet in size.

How Are Prediction Markets Different from Sportsbooks?

A sportsbook builds its cut into the odds, so you never see it. On the standard -110 price offered on both sides, the book keeps about 4.55% of everything staked. That's the floor. Flutter, which owns FanDuel, told investors its blended margin across its US business was 12.9% in late 2025, and that it wants 16%.

• Who sets the price: other traders. A sportsbook sets its own line and protects its margin.

• Whether you can get out: you can sell early on both, but a prediction market never takes the option away, and a sportsbook can.

• Whether you get cut off: Massachusetts regulators found 0.64% of bettors in the state had been limited, and that the ones limited were the ones beating the closing odds. Prediction markets don't limit winners, though they cap how much you can hold in one market.

• How you're taxed: sportsbook winnings are gambling income. Nobody has settled how these contracts are taxed, and Kalshi issues no tax form covering them.

Which States Restrict Sports Event Contracts?

This is the part most likely to have changed since publication.

Two federal appeals courts now disagree. In April 2026 the Third Circuit ruled that federal law overrides New Jersey's gambling rules for these contracts. In August 2026 the Ninth Circuit ruled the opposite in a Nevada case. New Jersey asked the Supreme Court to settle it on 2 September 2026, but the court hasn't agreed to hear it yet.

Roughly 19 states have acted, though counts differ because a warning letter, a lawsuit, a court order and a new law all get counted the same way. Arizona filed criminal charges against Kalshi in March 2026. Washington ordered it to stop offering sports markets in August 2026. Minnesota banned prediction markets outright, but a federal judge blocked the law days before it started.

Treat any "available nationwide" claim as marketing.

The Five Platforms

1. Kalshi. 

Federally licensed since November 2020, longer than anyone else, and it settles its own trades. It traded about $41.1 billion in July 2026 and raised $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation in May 2026. Sports sit alongside politics, economic data, stock indexes, weather and crypto, and it adds markets on breaking news within hours. It is also the most sued platform here: courts have blocked its sports markets in four states and Arizona brought criminal charges.

2. Novig. 

Sports and nothing else, licensed on 16 June 2026 and open since 4 August 2026. It charges no commission on anything placed before a game on a single outcome, which is where most betting happens, and it is the only federally regulated venue offering parlays under that name. Parlays are just over a third of its trading. It opened in 47 states plus DC, leaving out Nevada, Arizona and Michigan, and requires 21 everywhere, the only one here that does. It is small, about $148.4 million in the week to 17 August 2026.

3. Polymarket US. 

No prediction market trades more. Its US arm runs through QCX LLC, a licensed exchange it bought for $112 million in July 2025. Fees run cheaper than Kalshi at every price, and you get a rebate for posting a price. It covers eleven sports across seven bet types, and lets you combine 2 to 10 bets into one position. The US platform runs on regular dollars, with no crypto involved. It paid a $1.4 million federal penalty in 2022 for operating without a license.

4. DraftKings Predictions. 

Bought its way in by acquiring Railbird in October 2025, and has run its own licensed exchange since June 2026. Its selling point is reach. Sports contracts are available in states including California and Texas, neither of which has a legal online sportsbook. Fees are about a cent per contract each way, and if you already have a DraftKings account it takes almost no paperwork. Fewer markets than Kalshi, and a California lawsuit filed in August 2026 argues the product is illegal sports betting.

5. ProphetX. 

Licensed in June 2026, working in 49 states plus DC, the widest sports reach here. It charges a flat 2% of your profit, dropping to 1.5% for high-volume traders, and nothing on parlay winnings, so you pay only when you win. That suits occasional bettors placing large positions and punishes anyone grinding small edges.

What About Age Limits?

There is no federal minimum age for these contracts, and state gambling-age laws do not apply, because they are regulated as financial products. Kalshi, Polymarket and DraftKings Predictions all set 18. Novig sets 21 everywhere. Sportsbooks are generally 21, so an 18-year-old in most states can trade a contract on a game they couldn't legally bet on.

Which One Should You Choose?

• Sports only, mostly before the game starts: Novig. Zero commission there is the biggest cost advantage available, and it is the only one with parlays.

• Depth and a track record: Kalshi. The most trading, the longest license, and reachable through a brokerage account you may already hold.

• You post prices and wait: Polymarket US. It pays you to supply prices.

• You are in California or Texas: DraftKings Predictions. Built around exactly that gap.

• You want simple pricing: ProphetX. You pay 2% of what you win and nothing when you lose.

Responsible Gameplay

These contracts carry financial risk, and a losing one expires worthless. Novig requires users to be 21; the others require 18. Bet within your means and stop when it stops being enjoyable. If gambling is a problem for you or someone you know, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is available 24/7 at 1-800-522-4700, and confidential help is at ncpgambling.org.

Prediction Markets FAQ

What is the best prediction market for sports betting?
Kalshi, if you want the most trading and the widest range of markets. Novig, if you want the lowest cost: it charges nothing on bets placed before a game where Kalshi charges up to $1.75 per 100 contracts, and it is the only one with parlays.

Which one has the lowest fees?
Novig, on bets placed before a game starts, where there is no commission at all. It does charge on parlays and live bets. Among the platforms that charge every time, Polymarket US is cheaper than Kalshi at every price. All of them cost less than a sportsbook, which keeps about 4.55%.

Are prediction markets legal in the US?
They are regulated federally as financial products, and the platforms argue that overrides state gambling law. That's unresolved: one federal appeals court agreed in April 2026, another disagreed in August 2026, and New Jersey asked the Supreme Court to settle it on 2 September 2026. About 19 states have pushed back in some form.

Sources

1. CFTC Order of Designation, KalshiEX LLC, 4 November 2020 (link)

2. Kalshi fee schedule, filed with the CFTC (link)

3. Kalshi doubles valuation, hitting $22 billion, TechCrunch, 7 May 2026 (link)

4. Kalshi and Polymarket volume falls in August, The Block, 2 September 2026 (link)

5. Novig secures CFTC designation, PR Newswire, 16 June 2026 (link)

6. Novig prediction market volume since launch, InGame, 18 August 2026 (link)

Related Reading

• Florida Sports Betting Guidelines

• Minnesota Sports Betting Guidelines

• Maine Sports Betting Guidelines