Polymarket makes latest football move with OneFootball deal

Predictions platform Polymarket has continued its marketing spree ahead of the World Cup, with its latest move being a partnership with football media firm OneFootball. 

It represents a major distribution opportunity within mainstream sports media for the New York-headquartered business, which has grown rapidly by allowing users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events, including politics, economics and sport.

The announcement comes as prediction markets continue to attract growing attention from sports fans and media companies, although regulatory scrutiny remains intense in several jurisdictions. 

OneFootball noted that Polymarket experiences will only be introduced in eligible markets and in accordance with local laws and platform requirements.

Polymarket unable to operate in OneFootball’s home

A caveat of the partnership is that Polymarket is unable to operate in Germany – the country where OneFootball is located. 

Polymarket is currently regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the US, but many jurisdictions, including Germany, have prohibited prediction market platforms from operating unless they comply with the same regulatory requirements as gambling operators.

This has seen Polymarket and its prediction market counterpart Kalshi experience a tough time outside of the US, with the latest legal action on the companies coming from Spain.

La Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), the Spanish gambling regulator, last week launched legal action against the companies for operating without the required licenses, joining a long list of European jurisdictions which have launched similar proceedings.

This has not prevented Polymarket from landing partnerships with European-leaning businesses, however. 

Last month, it signed a multi-year deal with Serie A USA to become the Italian league’s official and exclusive prediction market partner in the US. This mirrored a similar deal made in April with LALIGA North America. 

It will be interesting to see whether any regulators in Germany, Italy or Spain investigate these partnerships, given the situation that arose in March regarding Eden Hazard’s partnership with Stake. 

The Belgian Gambling Commission, Kansspelcommissie (KSC), reportedly launched an investigation into this to make sure that the marketing deal was not targeting Belgian players, given Stake does not hold a license in the jurisdiction. 

Hazard could face legal prosecution, including an administrative fine which could potentially be as much as €700,000 (£605,000) if the deal is deemed to be targeting Belgian consumers. 

SBC News has seen no similar action being taken so far against Polymarket for any of the dealings mentioned. The company often faces accusations of running an illegal gambling platform, however, with the Spanish regulator the latest to pursue action against it.

OneFootball to build on Web3 strategy

The rollout is expected to coincide with a busy summer football schedule, giving both companies an opportunity to test how prediction-based engagement resonates with large-scale football audiences.

For OneFootball, it marks the company’s most significant Web3 collaboration to date and brings prediction-market experiences directly into its global football ecosystem.

The agreement will see eligible OneFootball users gain access to Polymarket prediction markets linked to football matches, transfer activity and major tournament outcomes. 

The integration is expected to appear across match centres, editorial content and personalised fan journeys, with future development potentially extending to live prediction widgets, odds-driven content and interactive experiences embedded within football broadcasts.

It builds on the recent launch of OneFootball Credits ($OFC), further expanding the company’s strategy to incorporate blockchain-based products and fan participation tools into its platform. 

OneFootball said the collaboration could eventually reach its network of more than 645 million monthly football fans across owned media channels, social platforms and partner distribution networks.

“For years, OneFootball has focused on one mission: making football more accessible, engaging and relevant for fans everywhere,” said OneFootball’s Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Fischer.

“Today, fan expectations are changing faster than ever. They don’t just consume content; they want to participate, interact and be closer to the moments that matter. That’s why I’m particularly excited about our new partnership with Polymarket.

“By bringing prediction experiences into the OneFootball ecosystem, we’re taking another step toward a more interactive future for football fans. One where content, community and participation come together in a seamless experience.

“A huge thank you to the teams at Polymarket and OneFootball for making this happen.”