Sports-centric predictions market platform Underdog has hired Nick Lundgren, the previous head of Crypto.com’s event contracts exchange, to serve as chief legal officer.
Lundgren also served as chief legal officer at Crypto.com and helped the exchange launch the trading of sports contracts in the US in late 2024. Since then, the industry has surged with sports markets accounting for the vast majority of the trading volume on some of the most popular US platforms.
“After working with Underdog, getting to know the team, their ability to build product and seeing them acquire the full stack of prediction markets licenses, it became obvious to me they were going to win the largest category of prediction markets, sports,” Lundgren said in a statement.
Underdog said it plans to keep its focus on sports, unlike some of the leading exchanges like Kalshi Inc. and Polymarket that offer wagers on almost anything.
The Brooklyn, New York-based company in March acquired an exchange and clearinghouse from Aristotle Inc. that were registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It has partnered with Crypto.com to execute sports trades while it builds out its own infrastructure and plans to make the switch to using its own licenses later this year.
In February, Underdog cut about 20% of its workforce, or about 125 people, according to Front Office Sports. The staff reduction was due in part to the company’s use of artificial intelligence, as well as its push into prediction markets, Front Office Sports said.
The broader prediction markets industry is ensnared in legal battles with tribal groups and state gaming regulators challenging whether the platforms should be treated as state-regulated sports betting operations. The CFTC has repeatedly sided with the industry and argued the agency has “exclusive jurisdiction” over exchanges like Kalshi and Crypto.com.
