Sporttrade to Withdraw From US Online Betting Market Months After Seeking CFTC Approval

Sporttrade announced that it will shut down its U.S. sports betting operations. Customers were informed that services will end on May 25 for New Jersey users, who must withdraw their funds before losing access.

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Players in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia have until June 25 to remove balances, with the platform scheduled to go fully offline on June 26. Any remaining funds will be mailed to the addresses listed in account records. 

The decision comes only three months after Sporttrade submitted an application to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission seeking approval to operate as a designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization.

That application was tied to its exchange model, which offered prediction‑style positions on sports events. The closure signals a sharp reversal from its earlier expansion plans.

“Today marks the opening of an incredibly exciting chapter of the Sporttrade journey.” Alex Kane, Sporttrade’s founder and CEO, said in a statement after the application was submitted. “The CFTC’s market-based regulatory framework enables Sporttrade to provide market participants an elevated level of efficiency, transparency, and consumer protection relative to what we’ve been able to offer to date.”

Sporttrade’s failed attempts at regulation 

Sporttrade’s path through regulation was far from smooth. While rivals Kalshi and Polymarket moved directly under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Sporttrade first tried to secure approval from state gaming regulators in the five states where it operated.

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That approach left the company tied to rules built for traditional sportsbooks, which offered little room for exchange‑style platforms.

Only later did Sporttrade turn to the CFTC, beginning its application in April last year. The process lasted nearly 12 months and required separate filings with both an exchange and a clearinghouse.

By then, the company had already been offering sports contracts in New Jersey since 2022, nearly two and a half years before Kalshi introduced its own sports event contracts for the 2025 Super Bowl. Spottrade’s progress was blocked by legal gaps, starting from state compacts lacking clear frameworks for exchanges to the CFTC opposing sports event contracts, until it shifted its policy in early 2025.

“We had originally constructed our venue under the assumption that the sports trading vertical would follow the trajectory of most other electronic markets, one towards efficiency and transparency powered by broker intermediation and institutional participation,” Kane said during the application submission to the CFTC last April.

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