Share 
STX says its three-plus years in Ontario’s regulated online gambling market have helped prepare the company for a broader move into U.S. prediction markets.
According to Covers, STX applied late last year to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for licenses as both a designated contract market and a derivatives clearing organization. CEO Justin Deutsch said the company’s long-term goal has been to operate a prediction market across all 50 states.
STX points to Ontario as proof of concept
STX launched in Ontario more than three years ago and, in a market with more than 30 provincially regulated online sportsbooks, the company is described as the only exchange operating there.
Deutsch told Covers that experience helped the platform adapt to stricter regulatory demands in the U.S. He also said STX believes its consumer safeguards exceed what the CFTC requires.
The company is not stepping away from Canada. Covers reported that STX plans to keep operating in Ontario and is also looking at Alberta as a possible next market.
The broader market opportunity is large, but still unsettled
The article notes that Kalshi currently accounts for about 85% of prediction market trading volume. It also cites Aldrin Research data showing more than $46 billion in notional trading volume in CFTC-regulated prediction markets over the past month, with roughly 80% tied to sports or parlays that may include sports.
That scale helps explain why operators and exchange-style platforms are watching the space closely. But the regulatory picture remains uncertain in both the U.S. and Canada.
In Canada, financial regulators have said they do not plan to authorize trading in sports event contracts. Covers reported that STX sees a possible longer-term path for non-sports contracts either through a platform licensed by both gambling and financial regulators or by licensing its technology to a financial company that already has those approvals.
What players should watch next
For now, the key unanswered question is whether STX will win CFTC approval for its U.S. licenses and when any American launch could follow. In Canada, readers should watch whether the company moves into Alberta and whether regulators eventually clarify the rules for prediction market products beyond traditional sports betting.
—
Source: As reported by Geoff Zochodne.
