Prediction market operator ADI Predictstreet and sportsbook technology provider the B2B platform behind FIRST.bet have signed a strategic partnership to roll out regulated prediction markets across Latin America. The agreement pairs ADI Predictstreet’s proprietary market infrastructure with FIRST.bet’s regional operator network, adding prediction products to an existing sportsbook offering. The two launched around the FIFA World Cup 2026 through a dedicated World Cup Prediction Hub. For operators in the region, it opens a new engagement channel at a moment when prediction markets are commanding billion-dollar valuations elsewhere.
What the FIRST.bet Deal Means for Regional Operators
The partnership matters because it hands Latin American operators a ready-made prediction product without building the underlying technology themselves. That lowers the barrier to entry in a category that has, until now, mostly lived in the US and a handful of European jurisdictions. Below, the strategic points that carry the most weight for the industry.
- Distribution over invention: FIRST.bet supplies the operator relationships and regulatory footprint; ADI Predictstreet supplies the market engine. Neither has to duplicate the other’s work.
- A World Cup launch window: The Hub went live around FIFA World Cup 2026, leaning on ADI Predictstreet’s status as the tournament’s official prediction market partner (though much of the tournament’s drama had already passed by launch).
- Prediction markets are the fastest-growing engagement format in sports betting, and this deal plants that format in a region hungry for new products.
- Regulatory cover: FIRST.bet’s licensing position across Latin American markets gives ADI Predictstreet a compliant runway it has not always enjoyed elsewhere.
The Technology Underneath
ADI Predictstreet runs on what it calls ADI Chain, an infrastructure layer built to handle millions of concurrent users. Alongside it sits a football intelligence engine trained on more than a decade of World Cup data, used to generate the market insights that price and populate individual contracts. In plain terms: the system reads years of match history to decide what fans can bet on and at what odds.
Tom Light, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FIRST.bet, framed the tie-up as an extension of what operators already receive. “Prediction markets are one of the most exciting new ways fans engage with sport, and the FIFA World Cup 2026 has proven the moment is now to bring them to Latin America at scale,” he said. “This partnership lets us extend what we give operators beyond the sportsbook: a World Cup-ready prediction product, powered by ADI Predictstreet and delivered through the FIRST.bet platform.”
A Category Under Regulatory Scrutiny
Prediction markets have surged. Platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have reached multi-billion-dollar valuations, drawing capital and headlines in roughly equal measure. But the sector carries a definitional problem that regulators keep circling back to: prediction markets often position themselves as something other than gambling, and many jurisdictions disagree.
That disagreement is not academic. It determines who can offer these products, under what licence, and with what consumer protections attached. In the US and across parts of Europe, the “is it gambling?” question remains contested (a distinction regulators have been slow to settle cleanly). Which raises a harder question for anyone entering Latin America: does regional regulation treat a prediction contract the same way it treats a sports bet?
ADI Predictstreet’s Uneven Track Record
The company’s expansion has not been smooth. Germany’s Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) opened a formal probe into ADI Predictstreet for operating in the country without a local gambling licence. Reports have also flagged problems with the platform’s user experience, and the operator faced sustained scrutiny through a rocky early period that ran almost up to the World Cup kickoff.
Yet the picture is not uniformly negative. Gibraltar launched its own prediction market framework this week, and ADI Predictstreet became the first platform in its sector to secure a licence there. That approval also cleared the company to expand into markets beyond football. Gibraltar is the exception to Europe’s broader wariness. One jurisdiction saying yes does not undo another’s investigation.
Dimitrios Psarrakis, Chief Executive Officer of ADI Predictstreet, pointed to the region’s scale. “Latin America represents one of the most exciting growth opportunities for regulated prediction markets,” he said. “FIRST.bet’s strong regulatory footprint and operator relationships make them the ideal partner to help us scale our technology across the region. We’re excited to begin our collaboration during the FIFA World Cup 2026 which provides the ideal proving ground for long-term infrastructure that will enable fans to engage with sport in entirely new ways for years to come.”
Regulatory Snapshot Across Key Markets
| Jurisdiction | ADI Predictstreet Status | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Gibraltar | First licensed prediction market platform under a framework launched this week; cleared to expand beyond football | Provides a regulated home base and a template for other markets |
| Germany | Under formal probe by the GGL for operating without a local gambling licence | Signals the enforcement risk facing unlicensed prediction activity |
| Latin America | Entering via FIRST.bet’s licensed operator network | Compliance handled through a partner with existing regional footing |
Why the Timing Cuts Both Ways
Launching around a World Cup makes commercial sense. Football drives the region’s betting volume, and a tournament concentrates attention like nothing else. Still, the Hub arrived with much of the action already played out, which blunts some of the acquisition upside a live-tournament launch usually delivers. The longer play, both companies argue, is the infrastructure itself rather than a single event.
For the wider industry, the precedent here is what to watch. A prediction market operator with an open regulatory file in one country is expanding through a licensed partner in another. Regulators comparing notes across borders now have a live case to study.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a prediction market?
A prediction market lets participants trade contracts on the outcome of future events, with prices reflecting the perceived probability of each result. Whether that counts as gambling depends on the jurisdiction, and that classification is precisely where much of the current dispute sits.
Why Latin America?
The region combines high football engagement with maturing regulatory frameworks, and FIRST.bet already holds operator relationships there. That existing footprint is what makes the market reachable without starting from scratch.
Is ADI Predictstreet fully licensed?
It became the first prediction market platform licensed under Gibraltar’s new framework. In Germany, it is under investigation by the GGL for operating without a local gambling licence.
What did the World Cup launch actually deliver?
A dedicated World Cup Prediction Hub built on ADI Predictstreet’s football intelligence engine and ADI Chain infrastructure. The tournament served as a proving ground more than a peak sales event, given how late the launch landed.
