Prediction markets are moving beyond sports and politics into Hollywood and pop culture, with Crypto.com and Robinhood at the forefront of this shift. Both companies have launched entertainment-focused event contracts that allow users to trade opinions on everything from Grammy nominations and Oscar winners to celebrity rankings and television trends.
New Wave of Entertainment Prediction Markets
Hollywood.com, a long-established entertainment media outlet, announced a partnership with Crypto.com, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-registered exchange and clearinghouse. Through this collaboration, the site will host a range of entertainment-based event contracts under a federally regulated framework.
“As prediction markets continue to grow and be part of a customer’s trading and investment strategy, we are excited to partner with a leading entertainment media property to offer customers a new way to engage with their favorite content,” said Travis McGhee, Managing Director and Global Head of Capital Markets at Crypto.com in the company’s press release. He emphasized that entertainment fans are “some of the most passionate consumers” and that the new product will provide a secure, legal way for them to engage in market-based predictions tied to entertainment.
Under this initiative, users can trade contracts on upcoming film releases, award ceremonies, music chart outcomes, and Broadway shows, with prices updating in real time. According to Mitchell Rubenstein, Co-CEO of Hollywood.com, “We’re creating an entirely new way for fans to engage with the content they’re passionate about, and as Hollywood.com, we are excited to lead this transformation with Crypto.com.”
Rubenstein described the project as “pure entertainment,” distinguishing it from sports or financial betting and positioning it as the first market of its kind dedicated exclusively to movies, television, gaming, and celebrity culture.
Robinhood Expands Entertainment and Cultural Contracts
Meanwhile, Robinhood Markets has launched a similar expansion of its Prediction Markets Hub, integrating dozens of entertainment-themed event contracts in partnership with Kalshi, another CFTC-regulated exchange.
Robinhood users can now trade contracts linked to Grammy and Golden Globe nominations, Oscar categories, and TIME’s Person of the Year. Additional contracts focus on technology, gaming, and science, including predictions such as “Will an AI-generated song reach the Billboard Hot 100?” and “Will the U.S. confirm alien existence this year?”
According to Finance Magnates, Robinhood recorded nearly $1 billion in prediction market trading volume during the second quarter of 2025. Roughly half of that total came through Kalshi, with Robinhood generating an estimated $10 million in revenue from event contracts during the same period.
JB Mackenzie, Robinhood’s vice president and general manager of futures and international, has described prediction markets as sitting “at the intersection of news, economics, politics, sports, and culture.” The company plans to add more than 100 new contracts across various categories in the coming months.
Robinhood’s growing entertainment lineup has already affected traditional gaming stocks, with DraftKings shares falling 18% in recent weeks, a decline attributed in part to competition from event contracts. The firm’s expansion comes as DraftKings itself enters the federally regulated prediction market space through the acquisition of Railbird Technologies.
Beyond Sports: Market Growth and Regulation
The surge in entertainment-linked prediction markets highlights a broader strategic shift. With several U.S. states scrutinizing sports derivatives as potential gambling products, both Crypto.com and Robinhood appear to be channeling growth into areas less likely to trigger regulatory disputes.
A recent Crypto.com statement confirmed that the entertainment contracts offered through Hollywood.com would allow fans to trade their predictions “on what is going to happen next alongside their favorite entertainment developments.” The partnership follows a separate accord between Crypto.com and Trump Media & Technology Group, making Truth Social the first social media platform to directly integrate yes/no derivatives.
Both firms’ moves signal a diversification of event-based trading, appealing to consumers who prefer pop culture and celebrity-driven content over traditional financial or sports predictions.
Crypto.com’s U.S. affiliate, Derivatives North America, is fully licensed by the CFTC, offering federal compliance assurances to its entertainment market users. Similarly, Robinhood’s collaboration with Kalshi aligns it with existing CFTC oversight, allowing both entities to operate across all 50 states without seeking individual state gaming licenses.
Industry observers believe that by expanding into entertainment and culture, these platforms are tapping into a massive audience base while sidestepping the growing patchwork of sports wagering laws. As Rubenstein put it, “The success of prediction markets demonstrates the massive appetite for trading on the outcome of future events — and now Hollywood.com is bringing that innovation to entertainment’s biggest stage.”
