IG Group bids up to $1.3 billion for Underdog as it pushes into US prediction markets

IG Group has made a bid to acquire DFS and prediction markets operator Underdog in a deal that could be worth up to $1.3 billion. For payment providers, the relevant part is not the headline valuation; it is that a FTSE 100-listed trading platform is moving deeper into a US consumer gambling-adjacent vertical with regulated prediction markets, sports-linked products, and a distribution model built for volume.

1. IG Group said the deal values Underdog at $1.1 billion, or 2.4x Underdog’s 12-month revenue to June 2026 of $466 million. That figure was up 21% year-over-year. The transaction also includes an earnout of up to approximately $200 million, payable to Underdog shareholders if 2026 net gaming revenue targets are met and if the company delivers positive 2026 EBITDA.
2. To fund the acquisition, IG Group has arranged a bridge facility of up to $950 million with Barclays Bank PLC and Goldman Sachs. The deal is expected to complete in late 2026 or early 2027.
3. Breon Corcoran, now CEO of IG Group, said the acquisition would make IG “a leader in US prediction markets” and accelerate growth in “the world’s largest and fastest-growing retail trading market.” Corcoran joined IG Group in December 2023 and previously led Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) from 2016 to 2018, after spending more than three years at Betfair between 2012 and 2016.
4. The Corcoran-Underdog link is not new. Jeremy Levine founded DFS app DRAFT, which was sold to PPB under Corcoran in 2017 for $19 million, with further cash considerations of up to $29 million. IG said Corcoran was also an early-stage investor in Underdog.
5. Underdog entered prediction markets in September 2025 through a partnership with Crypto.com Derivatives. Levine told CNBC at the time that the company would roll out sports prediction markets in 16 states. Since launching its predictions arm, Underdog has expanded across 30 states with parlays and migrated to Kalshi, making it the third-largest US prediction-markets venue by US-regulated notional volume flow, across both prediction markets and DFS combination trades.

IG Group also said the acquisition would materially increase its US presence, more than double its US revenues on completion, and increase US monthly active customers more than tenfold. For PSPs and acquirers, that combination matters: a listed trading firm is buying not just a brand, but a customer base and a low-cost acquisition channel tied to prediction markets and DFS-style monetisation.