Techme101.com

DraftKings Inc. (DraftKings) has made the step to acquire prediction market company Railbird to gain a foothold in the growing sports contract market.
The deal marks another milestone for DraftKings as the national gambling name is anticipating a new mobile predictions platform for launch in late 2025 or early 2026, named DraftKings Predictions.
DraftKings acquires Railbird to enhance portfolio in predictions market
Prediction markets have been heating up since their impact during the previous presidential elections, and are now ingrained in so many markets, including weather, politics, and general novelty.
One new territory that a number of these companies are growing in is sports betting or sporting outcomes. This exponential growth has come with an amount of legal and regulatory tension across the United States as these companies seek to use the safe haven of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
Kalshi, as we reported, is the latest to see the argument into the CFTC and CEA shield showing signs of possible cracking, with the company now facing Nevada regulators’ ire in one of their many state-led legal battles.
DraftKings, according to the recently published Railbird statement, directly mentions the federally regulated nature of the predictions company and see’s the deal as a “broader strategy to enter prediction markets, expanding its addressable opportunity through regulated event contracts.”
DraftKings expanding across 2025
Jason Robins, CEO and Co-Founder of DraftKings, said of the deal, “We believe that Railbird’s team and platform—combined with DraftKings’ scale, trusted brand, and proven expertise in mobile-first products—positions us to win in this incremental space.”
The deal also is hot off the heels of the announcement DraftKings made with NBCUniversal (NBC) to become the official staking partner on their broadcasts.
This was a huge milestone for DraftKings as their brand would have access and be front runner in NBC’s coverage of the NBA, NFL, NCAA, PGA Tour, and Premier League to name a few of the billion dollar competitions.
This wasn’t lost on Railbird’s CEO and Co-Founder of Railbird, Miles Saffran. He said “This is a transformational moment for our company, and we are thrilled to be a part of the future of DraftKings.”
Saffran concluded that the betting giant’s “scale and leadership in the industry creates meaningful opportunities for our team and platform.”
Featured image: DraftKings
The post DraftKings acquires Railbird to expand into predictions markets appeared first on ReadWrite.

GGPoker has publicly addressed the recent integrity breach involving superstar players in the GGMillion$ Tournament, including its ambassador, Tony “Ren” Lin.
The debacle surrounded several players involved in tournaments running at the same time, the GGMillion$ online and the WSOP Super Circuit Cyprus Main Event.
Lin was alleged to have given a player advice in a live hand of poker in the online environment via text chat.
Tony ‘Ren’ Lin’s actions lead to an unfair advantage
As we reported, Lin penned a public apology for his part in the issue involving GGPoker’s integrity and his disqualification from the Cypriot tournament.

The moment Tony Lin was escorted from the feature table and then DISQUALIFIED in the middle of Day 2 of the WSOP Super Circuit Cyprus Main Event.
Commentary by @aaronpaulkramer #ggpoker #wsop pic.twitter.com/QaAh4S6EYf
— WorldpokerdealsCOM (@worldpokerdeals) October 18, 2025

Lin involved himself in the online tournament, in his words, mistakenly thinking that the player was asking for post-game opinion on a hand.
The player with the handle RealAO, who asked Lin’s opinion, was currently competing live in the GGMillion$ and would go on to be the eventual winner.
This was much to the chagrin of the other players competing, as real-time advice and screenshots were being published to a corresponding chat by active player Buzzcut.
He was challenging the fact that Lin was giving expert advice in a live game environment, which prompted the apology from the veteran player.
“I am deeply ashamed and remorseful for failing to live up to the standards I advocate. I am prepared to accept all penalties and will make every effort to compensate the players affected in this event,” said Lin on social media.
GGPoker officially confronts integrity confusion
As part of the official statement, GGPoker has been particularly stern in its banning of RealAO, saying he is now permanently “banned from GGPoker, WSOP, and all partner platforms.”
Lin, on the other hand, has been suspended “indefinitely” from any GGPoker, WSOP, and all partner platform events.
In addition to the suspensions, GGPoker recouped the lost monies from RealAO’s account to the amount of “$250,523. While $96,380 short, Lin voluntarily contributed the remaining amount from personal funds to cover the shortfall,” said the publication.
In closing, GGPoker stated that the Lin/RealAO incident “demonstrates three principles,” which were surmised as immediate consequences, including suspensions from related poker events and products, a brief overview of the company’s stringent detection process, and a reaffirmation that any financial losses would be recouped in light of a rules breach.
Featured image: GGPoker
The post Tony ‘Ren’ Lin suspended as GGPoker confronts integrity breach scandal appeared first on ReadWrite.