Gambling Industry Stories To Watch: Super Bowl LX Week
Super Bowl LX is compressing a month’s worth of gambling news into a single week, as sportsbooks, prediction markets, and regulators all make consequential moves before kickoff.
With handle expected to peak nationwide, sportsbooks, prediction markets, and regulators are all making last-minute moves ahead of Super Bowl LX. New combo-style contracts, advertising restrictions, and key legal hearings are converging at once, creating a pivotal stretch that could influence how alternative wagering products compete long after the final whistle.
Prediction Markets Ramp Up Ahead Of Kickoff
FanDuel and DraftKings Combo-Style Contracts Could Arrive Just In Time
The nation’s largest sportsbooks, FanDuel and DraftKings, which now also operate prediction markets, are expected to roll out parlay-style “combo” products this week.
The timing is strategic. The Super Bowl is the largest wagering event of the year for U.S. sportsbooks. Because parlays are among the most popular bet types, “combos” could help these platforms capture users nationwide, especially in states without legalized sports betting.
What To Watch:
- Launch timing for “combos.”
- How “combos” are structured (pre-built vs. user-built)
- How “combos” compare with traditional parlays
Will Polymarket Expand Its Super Bowl Menu?
While Kalshi offers a wide range of contracts, including winner, MVP, and over 30 props, Polymarket does not offer NFL contracts in its U.S. app. The international version, however, offers a much broader slate. The Super Bowl winner market is trading at nearly $700 million in volume.
Industry observers have long anticipated that Polymarket would roll out football contracts in time for the Super Bowl, but with the game approaching, there are still no signs of a U.S. rollout.
What To Watch:
- Super Bowl contracts appearing in the U.S. product
Will Markets Work Around The NFL’s Advertising Restrictions?
The National Football League has banned prediction-market advertising from the national Super Bowl broadcast. However, local broadcast affiliates sometimes run different inventory, creating a potential path for regional placements.
If platforms pursue localized buys, it could create a patchwork strategy similar to the early days of sportsbook marketing tactics.
What To Watch:
- Evidence of affiliate or regional ad placements
- Whether regulators or the league respond
Could More Pop-Culture Super Bowl Markets Emerge
Beyond sports event contracts, prediction market platforms also offer a wide range of novelty or pop-culture contracts tied to celebrities, commercials, and broadcast moments.
For example, a market on Bad Bunny’s opening song on Kalshi is trading at over $1.5 million in volume. With slightly lower volumes, there are also markets on which artists will join him, or other hit songs he will perform.
The performer’s halftime show is the primary topic in pop culture markets surrounding the Super Bowl. Other novelty markets include “Will Bad Bunny say F.. ICE” or “Bad Bunny wears a skirt.”
There are also options to trade on who will attend the game or what companies will run ads.
What To Watch:
- Brand or advertisement outcome markets
- Entertainment or halftime-related contracts
Sportsbooks Lean Into Props And Advertising
The Annual Prop-Bet Arms Race Returns
Traditional sportsbooks are responding with scale. Operators, including Caesars Sportsbook, have already begun publishing extensive Super Bowl prop menus spanning player stats, game events, and novelty outcomes, with hundreds of wagers expected across major books.
What To Watch:
- Which operators post Super Bowl-specific menus
- Depth of offerings and maximum limits
- “Biggest prop list” becoming a marketing hook
Super Bowl Ads Remain A Premium Battleground
Despite research suggesting celebrity gambling ads have diminishing returns on consumer perception, sportsbooks will likely continue to treat the Super Bowl as a core advertising event.
Fanatics has already rolled out an ad featuring Kendall Jenner, generating early buzz.
According to multiple reports, FanDuel is also planning to introduce an ad, with DraftKings potentially unveiling one as well. Notably, the two giants have spent significant sums on Super Bowl advertising in recent years but have been silent so far this year.
What To Watch:
- Whether more sportsbooks will release Super Bowl ads.
- The ads’ messaging, including responsible gaming, and whether they take aim at prediction markets.
Other Stories To Watch This Week
Kalshi Faces Key Tennessee Court Hearing
While prediction markets might have their sights on the Super Bowl, litigation continues in multiple states with a key hearing this week. On Monday, Feb. 2, a preliminary injunction hearing will be held in the legal battle between Kalshi and the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council.
On Jan. 9, the regulator sent a cease-and-desist letter. Kalshi responded with a lawsuit.
On Jan. 12, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing Tennessee from enforcing its gambling statutes against Kalshi.
Then, in its opposition to Kalshi’s motion for a preliminary injunction, Tennessee cited a Massachusetts ruling against Kalshi in a footnote. The state argued the court should deny relief because Kalshi approached the court with “unclean hands.”
A decision could influence how other states approach prediction markets tied to sports outcomes.
What To Watch:
- Whether the court issues a ruling and how it could affect similar litigation in other states.
Maryland Lawmakers Weigh Sweepstakes Enforcement
On Feb. 5, Maryland legislators will hold a hearing on HB 295, a bill targeting sweepstakes-style and dual-currency online casino models. The proposal is a carryover from last year, when it failed to advance past the committee stage.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, a companion bill received a hearing last week. Lawmakers heard arguments from the gaming regulator that sweepstakes casinos are illegal operators, while industry representatives testified in favor of regulating the model. The committee did not vote on the matter.
What To Watch:
- Arguments for and against banning sweepstakes casinos
- Lawmakers’ comments on the matter and potential vote
Legislative Sessions Accelerate Gambling Agendas
Several states begin their 2026 legislative sessions this week.
Oklahoma convenes on Feb. 2 with multiple bills pre-filed. That includes a measure to ban sweepstakes casinos. There are also carryover bills from 2025 on sports betting. Those include HB 1101 and HB 1047, which passed in the House, and SB 585, which passed in the Senate.
Other states that begin their sessions include Oregon on Feb. 2 and Connecticut on Feb. 4.
Additionally, several states are facing deadlines to introduce new bills. That includes Kansas, New Mexico, South Dakota (Feb. 4), Illinois (Feb. 6), and Colorado (Senate on Feb. 6).
What To Watch:
- New gambling-related bills in states that adjourned this week or have introduction deadlines
- Whether Oklahoma lawmakers signal agreement on sports betting
- Fast-tracked committee hearings
Gambling Insider delivers the latest industry news, in-depth features, and operator reviews that you can trust. Our team combines rigorous editorial standards with decades of specialized expertise to ensure accuracy and fairness. We are committed to delivering clear, impartial, and dependable coverage across the global gambling sector.
