Sports Illustrated is taking a shot at the prediction outcome business.
The U.S. brand synonymous with sports media recently announced a partnership with prediction platform Galactic to launch SI Predict during 2025's second quarter. The joint venture will compete with other prediction outcome market sites like Kalshi and let SI Predict users trade on the outcomes of “trends and themes” of sporting events.
“Sports Illustrated has always been about engaging fans in the stories that shape the world of sports,” said Dan Dienst, Executive Vice Chairman, Authentic Brands Group, and Chairman of Sports Illustrated. “With SI Predict, we’re excited to watch Galactic roll out its platform to fans and enthusiasts and enable them to express their insights beyond the sofa or neighborhood tavern and engage passionately with a more global audience on the content adjacent to the sport moments they love.”
Different approach
This announcement comes a year after Authentic Brands Group-owned Sports Illustrated ended its partnership with sports betting company 888 Holdings. SI Sportsbook left Colorado in Sept. 2024, and recently stopped operating in Michigan, leaving Virginia as the operator’s lone market.
SI and U.K.-based Galactic take an approach that won’t mimic traditional sportsbooks and outcome markets. Galactic said SI Predict will be a more interactive platform focusing on “socially relevant and fun propositions” that allow users to showcase knowledge instead of gambling expertise.
“Sports viewership is no longer a one-way conversation,” Galactic CEO Stuart Stott said. “Fans want to be involved, and they want their opinions to have weight. SI Predict revolutionizes sports engagement, transforming it from passive viewership to an active, influential forum.”
What’s to come
SI Predict said it will offer prop-like markets in several sports, including football, golf, boxing, and hockey. Users will select “Yes” and “No” picks with some markets, like other prediction platforms. The platform will provide live data.
Galactic said it will use a “secure, regulatory-compliant framework” with blockchain technology that will be simple to use, even for customers with no crypto knowledge. Early sign-ups are open at SIPredict.com.
Prediction expansion
SI Predict comes on the heels of Kalshi’s expansion into the sports world. What started as a prediction outcome platform launched during the 2024 U.S. Election, Kalshi began offering markets on the Super Bowl and March Madness in 2025.
The site is also linked with Robinhood to showcase its prediction markets on the popular trading platform.
Earlier this week, Kalshi accepted more than $200 million on NCAA men’s and women’s tournament markets.
Along with Polymarket, prediction sites are becoming more popular, but remain controversial. Kalshi needed a court order to offer election markets last year after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission originally blocked the gambling-like platform.
U.S. sports betting is regulated by states, not the federal government. The American Gaming Association and the Indian Gaming Association are outspoken about prediction platforms taking revenue away from legal commercial and tribal sports betting operators.
