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FTSE 100 online trading group IG has agreed to acquire US daily fantasy sports and prediction markets operator Underdog Sports Holdings, Inc., for up to $1.3 billion, Completion is expected in late 2026 or early 2027. The deal takes the London listed firm into federally regulated US event contracts.
IG said the acquisition would more than double its US revenues and increase its US monthly active customers more than tenfold.
Had the two businesses been combined in 2025, the US would have accounted for around 40 per cent of group revenue, up from 22 per cent for IG alone. Prediction markets and daily fantasy sports would have made up around 25 per cent of combined net trading revenue.
Underdog brings around one million average monthly active users and more than five million depositing customers, drawn from over 11 million registered accounts. IG currently serves over 1.4 million customers worldwide across IG, tastytrade, Freetrade, Independent Reserve and IG Prime.
IG says it sees two way cross selling potential between the businesses. It cited internal survey data indicating that more than 58 per cent of Underdog's customers have traded individual stocks and 46 per cent have traded crypto, alongside wider market research suggesting that 44 per cent of options and futures traders participate in sports prediction markets.
Underdog, founded in 2020, is the second largest daily fantasy sports operator in the US by revenue, behind PrizePicks.
Since launching a limited prediction markets offering in September 2025, it has become the third largest US prediction markets venue by regulated notional volume flow across prediction markets and daily fantasy sports combination trades, behind event contract exchange Kalshi and retail brokerage Robinhood, according to IG's internal estimates. The product accounted for 54 per cent of handle in the first half of 2026.
IG said Underdog is one of only a small number of operators, alongside Kalshi and Robinhood, with the integrated capability to compete meaningfully in sports prediction markets. Underdog holds the full licence stack: a futures commission merchant (FCM) registration, plus a designated contract market and a derivatives clearing organisation acquired in March 2026 through the purchase of Aristotle Exchange DCM and Aristotle Exchange DCO. Underdog launched its own exchange on that infrastructure on 18 July 2026, having previously routed trades through Crypto.com and Kalshi, and has moved its existing customers onto prediction market rails using the same app, wallet and identity verification.That licence stack gives Underdog national coverage under a single federal regime, in place of the state by state framework that governs daily fantasy sports and restricts permitted contest formats. Underdog has migrated its existing customer base onto prediction market rails using the same app, wallet and identity verification.
IG flagged scope to extend beyond sport into contracts referencing crypto, financial and macroeconomic, and cultural and political outcomes, as well as optionality to enter the onshore perpetual futures market and to share infrastructure with its US brokerage tastytrade.
The deal was announced alongside results for the six months to 30 June 2026.
Total revenue rose 18 per cent to £642.8 million, with net trading revenue up 21 per cent to £588.8 million. EBITDA was up 4 per cent to £282.0 million at a margin of 44 per cent, held back by lower interest income, higher marketing and product investment, and costs associated with the strategic review. Adjusted earnings per share rose 21 per cent to 68.9 pence, while statutory earnings per share was broadly flat at 53.8 pence.
Active customers were up 66 per cent to 843.6k, or 13 per cent on an organic continuing operations basis, marking a sixth consecutive quarter of sequential growth. First trades more than doubled to 121.4k, supported by a 51 per cent increase in marketing spend to £75.4 million. Group assets under administration passed £21.5 billion in June, up 34 per cent year on year.
US net trading revenue was £103.4 million, up 18 per cent, driven by growth in options volumes within exchange traded derivatives. The UK and Ireland division grew 24 per cent to £197.5 million, and APAC and Middle East grew 31 per cent to £190.4 million.
The board declared an interim dividend of 14.46 pence per share. The £125.0 million buyback programme announced in March has been paused following the Underdog announcement, with approximately £33.0 million completed, and IG expects to resume buybacks in 2027.
The acquisition follows the strategic review IG announced on 19 March 2026 .
Breon Corcoran, CEO, IG
Commenting on the acquisition, Breon Corcoran, Chief Executive Officer of IG Group, said: "The acquisition of Underdog establishes IG as a leader in US prediction markets, one of the most significant opportunities across trading and entertainment, and accelerates our growth in the world's largest and fastest-growing retail trading market. Technology is reshaping the large, high-engagement markets in which IG operates - and increasingly bringing them together. Underdog puts us at the front of that convergence: a product-first team, a leading daily fantasy sports franchise and a full licence stack that together give us a differentiated position in US prediction markets. It expands both our addressable market and our growth trajectory. We are delighted to welcome Jeremy and the Underdog team to IG."
Jeremy Levine, Co-Founder and CEO, Underdog
Jeremy Levine, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Underdog, said: "We built Underdog by creating the best experience for fans, and we've proven we can build the best products no matter how the regulatory landscape shifts. It's why we've taken off in prediction markets since we launched last year. Now, with our own exchange and by joining IG, we're going to take an incredible leap in what we can offer customers and make Underdog the place to make predictions on sports and beyond. IG's scale, expertise, resources and reach are going to unlock our potential, expand what we've built, and bring our products to more audiences. I couldn't be more excited about what we're going to do together."
Underdog will operate as a commercially standalone business with its own brand, platform and leadership team, with Levine reporting directly to IG's chief executive. Levine previously founded DRAFT, acquired by Paddy Power Betfair, and StarStreet, acquired by DraftKings. Corcoran was chief executive of Paddy Power Betfair at the time of the DRAFT acquisition.
The RNS disclosed that Corcoran holds a personal investment in Underdog of approximately 0.34 per cent of its fully diluted share capital, acquired before his appointment as IG chief executive in December 2023. He disclosed the holding to the board at the outset and recused himself from the formal board approval. The board unanimously supports the transaction.
Completion remains subject to US regulatory approvals, clearance or expiry of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, confirmatory diligence and definitive documentation.
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