FIFA officially announced on April 2, 2026, a multi-year partnership with ADI Predictstreet, making the platform the first "Official Prediction Market Partner" in the history of the World Cup. The agreement, announced from Abu Dhabi by ADI Chain, allows fans worldwide to participate in predictive markets—predictions settled in real-time via the blockchain—on all 104 matches of the tournament set to kick off on June 11, 2026, in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. This marks the first time a major sporting competition has officially integrated decentralized finance into its fan engagement ecosystem.
ADI Predictstreet operates using smart contracts deployed on the ADI Chain blockchain. Users acquire "prediction tokens" indexed to match outcomes—win, draw, number of goals, goal scorers—and automatically receive their winnings after the match, without intermediaries. The platform distinguishes itself from traditional sports betting sites through its decentralized model: odds are determined by market supply and demand, not by a bookmaker, which theoretically ensures greater transparency and lower margins.
This partnership is part of a broader trend of integrating predictive markets into professional sports. Just days earlier, Spain's LaLiga announced a similar agreement with Polymarket for the United States and Canada. The phenomenon, long confined to the crypto sphere, is gaining legitimacy since the Trump administration initiated legal action against several US states to mandate the legalization of platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Football, the world's most popular sport, offers predictive markets a massive expansion vector with the 5 billion viewers expected for the 2026 World Cup.
Financial regulators are observing this convergence with a mix of interest and caution. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to rule on the legal framework for sports prediction markets, while France's Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has recalled that these products are akin to derivative financial instruments subject to regulation. FIFA, for its part, insists on the "fun and educational" nature of the platform and asserts that consumer protection mechanisms—betting limits, identity verification, exclusion of minors—will be integrated into the application.
For ADI Chain, founded in Abu Dhabi, this partnership is a consecration. The platform, which until now had only developed professional digital asset management applications, is making its first foray into the consumer market with Predictstreet. The stakes are colossal: the global sports betting market is valued at over $200 billion, and blockchain promises to capture a growing share of it through its ability to reduce intermediation fees and guarantee transaction traceability. If the model works during the 2026 World Cup, it could extend to the Olympic Games, the NBA, and the Premier League.
