Fliff and Onyx Odds registered with the National Futures Association on 12 August and applied for Futures Commission Merchant status. Both social sportsbooks have run on the sweepstakes model until now.
An FCM licence lets a firm act as an intermediary in derivatives: taking client orders and client funds for futures, options and swaps. That is more than an introducing broker can do, since an IB may accept orders but not hold customer money.
The filing follows pressure on sweepstakes gaming in the U.S., where more than a dozen states have restricted or banned dual-currency play over two years, while federally regulated prediction markets grow faster. Sports event contracts remain in dispute between the CFTC, operators and state regulators.
Neither company can launch its own exchange without a designated contract market licence. Onyx already operates through its subsidiary Onyx Predictions on an IB status; the new application through Onyx Markets LLC would bring more functions in-house. Other sweepstakes operators are taking separate routes: ProphetX and Novig won DCM status from the CFTC in June, Betr bought IB broker Ascent Capital Management in May, and MyPrize entered the market in November 2025 through a partnership with Crypto.com.
