Prediction market platforms continue to expand their footprint into Europe, with Polymarket announcing an agreement with the Bundesliga in a first for the competition.
It’s just the latest partnership with a sports league or franchise in the United States for Polymarket. Since the start of 2026, the company has secured agreements with Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and Leagues Cup, gaining rights to offer league-branded prediction markets and integrate market-based content into fan engagement initiatives.
MLB named Polymarket its exclusive prediction market exchange partner in March, while MLS designated the company as its official and exclusive prediction market partner for league competitions in the United States.
Deal includes digital and social media focused content
The agreement will see the Bundesliga and Polymarket collaborate on digital and social media content centered on match predictions and event contracts. The partnership is designed to integrate prediction market activity into the league’s fan engagement strategy, providing U.S. users with market-based insights tied to Bundesliga matches and storylines throughout the season.
As part of the deal, Polymarket will receive exclusive rights in the United States to use Bundesliga and participating club intellectual property in connection with listed prediction markets. The arrangement gives the company access to official league branding and marks another step in the growing relationship between sports organizations and prediction market operators, which are increasingly positioning their products as an alternative way for fans to engage with sporting events.
President of sports business development at Polymarket, Ari Borod, said: “The Bundesliga is home to some of the most exciting players in world football, and its U.S. audience reflects that. An official partnership with the Bundesliga equips Polymarket to serve that audience with the credibility the league deserves.”
The Bundesliga have been making big moves to strengthen their international presence over recent years, including expanding a long-running partnership with Sportradar to enhance fan engagement and betting-related products worldwide. Ahead of the 2025-26 season, the agreement introduced new data-driven offerings powered by millions of match data points, including expanded live player markets, AI-enhanced streaming features and an upgraded live match tracker, as the league seeks to grow its global audience and deepen engagement across digital and sports betting platforms.
Polymarket under fire for alleged deceptive marketing practices
Meanwhile, the company finds itself under pressure after reports from the Wall s\Street Journal revealed some questionable marketing practices. Polymarket said it is reviewing its procedures after an investigation from the financial news outlet found that social media creators were paid to publish videos that overstated customer profits. The report said some videos portrayed users collectively earning about $1.9 million on trades that did not reflect actual outcomes on the platform.
According to the Journal, which analyzed more than 1,100 TikTok videos and interviewed content creators, many of the posts featured simulated trades conducted on websites designed to resemble Polymarket. The newspaper said the campaign was intended to attract users to the offshore prediction market, which allows trading on the outcomes of events ranging from elections to sports.
The investigation also found that a marketing contractor working with Polymarket encouraged “clippers,” who repost creator content to expand its reach, to redistribute the videos. In one example cited by the Journal, a video showed a student turning a $1,000 wager on President Donald Trump mentioning McDonald’s into a $100,000 payout. However, the newspaper reported that traders who made the equivalent bet on Polymarket ultimately lost.
In a statement to CBS News, a Polymarket spokesperson said the company is committed to maintaining accurate and transparent markets and is conducting a comprehensive audit of active promotional content. The review will examine whether marketing materials comply with company standards as well as applicable legal and disclosure requirements.
In April, Polymarket announced it was seeking to raise an additional $400 million, according to people familiar with the matter, after securing $600 million in funding at a $15 billion valuation. The proposed deal would mark a sharp increase from Polymarket’s $9 billion valuation last year, when Intercontinental Exchange acquired a $1 billion stake in the company. Despite the rapid growth, Polymarket would still trail rival Kalshi, which recently reached a $22 billion valuation after raising $1 billion in fresh capital.
