Betr acquires Ascent Capital to launch prediction markets, gains key regulatory approvals

Betr has acquired Ascent Capital Management Inc., gaining National Futures Association (NFA) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) registrations that clear a regulatory path for the launch of prediction markets within its app.

The transaction gives Betr status as a CFTC-registered introducing broker through the acquisition of Ascent Capital Management, which has held introducing broker registration since 2011. The deal will allow the company to advance plans to introduce prediction markets powered by Polymarket within the Betr platform.

Later this year, Betr intends to make event contracts available to its more than 1 million paying users nationwide. The offering is expected to cover sports, politics, culture, and other categories.

The contracts will be integrated into the same platform that currently hosts its Picks, Sportsbook, Casino, and Arcade products. Users will access the offerings through a single app and wallet.

"Prediction markets represent one of the most exciting evolutions in interactive entertainment and financial technology," said Joey Levy, founder and CEO of Betr. "Since starting Betr, we have built our business entirely around serving the modern sports fan at scale. This acquisition is another step toward our vision of creating the first true nationwide real-money gaming app.”

“By securing IB registration through the acquisition of an established broker, we can now focus entirely on launching a seamless, compliant prediction markets experience powered by Polymarket,” Levy added. “Our users will soon be able to engage with Picks, Sportsbook, Casino, Arcade, and Predictions all within a single integrated ecosystem."

Betr said Ascent Capital Management brings an established compliance infrastructure that will support the company's entry into the prediction markets segment while maintaining regulatory compliance and user protection standards.