Robinhood Unveils March Madness Contracts with New Prediction Market Hub
Robinhood’s diving headfirst into prediction markets, launching a dedicated hub in its app that’s kicking off with a slam dunk: contracts tied to the men’s and women’s March Madness basketball tournaments. Rolled out today, March 17, 2025, the hub also lets users wager on the Federal Reserve’s upper target funds rate for May, marking a fresh chapter in the brokerage’s push to blend finance with real-world events. After a rocky history with regulators, Robinhood’s betting big on this venture, and it’s got plans to expand.
March Madness Takes Center Stage
The new hub’s star attraction is March Madness. Users can now trade contracts pegged to tournament outcomes, from Cinderella runs to championship wins, daily from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. ET.
Alongside that, there’s a financial twist: contracts forecasting the Fed’s May rate ceiling, blending sports fever with economic guesswork. It’s a bold opener for a platform that Robinhood sees growing into a one-stop shop for market, sports, and political bets down the line.
JB Mackenzie, VP and GM of Futures and International at Robinhood underscored the company’s belief in prediction markets as a powerful tool where news, economics, sports, politics, and culture collide. “We’re excited to offer … prediction markets and look forward to doing so in compliance with existing regulations,” said Mackenzie, in a statement.
A Bumpy Road to Now
Robinhood’s been flirting with prediction markets for months, with a track record that’s had its ups and downs. Before last year’s presidential election, it dipped its toes in, offering contracts on the outcome, a hit with users.
Then came a Super Bowl misstep: the firm launched game-result contracts, only to yank them a day later under pressure from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which flagged missing approvals. That stumble followed a successful election bet rollout in November 2024, showing Robinhood could play the game when the stars aligned.
Now, the firm’s back with a sharper focus. Partnering with KalshiEX LLC, a CFTC-regulated exchange, Robinhood is ensuring this hub launches on solid ground.
The company’s been in close talks with the CFTC lately, aiming to keep innovation humming while staying compliant. The Kalshi tie-up is temporary. Robinhood might switch partners or build its own matching engine later, but for now, it’s splitting a two-cent-per-contract fee with Kalshi, one cent each.
How It Works and Who’s In
Access isn’t wide open. To trade these contracts, users need a Robinhood individual investment account with either margin investing or options trading enabled—a gatekeeper move to filter for seasoned players.
Once in, they’re tapping a market Robinhood touts as both regulated and revealing, using financial rigor to price out real-world odds. The initial rollout spans all 50 states via Kalshi, with contracts hitting the app today and fanning out to eligible users over the next few days.
The March Madness contracts are a natural fit, college hoops’ chaos draws bettors like moths to a flame. Pairing that with Fed rate predictions shows Robinhood’s aiming to hook both sports nuts and market watchers, with plans to layer in more variety soon.
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