Key Takeaways:
A Controversial Sprint From Gibraltar License to DAZN Deal
Prediction and betting components are going to be significantly more woven into the fabric of the FIFA World Cup product this year with rapidly forming partnerships like this recently announced deal.
Under this partnership, ADI Predictstreet will be embedded before, during, and after live events on DAZN, enabling interactive prompts, real-time sentiment tracking, and prediction experiences tied to the tournament. While the World Cup serves as a launchpad, the deal extends across DAZN’s wider sports portfolio, with plans to roll out across major leagues and events.
ADI Predictstreet is built on ADI Chain, which its backers describe as the first institutional Layer 2 blockchain for stablecoins and real-world assets in the MENA region. This is the first consumer-facing application deployed on ADI Chain’s infrastructure, which its backers say uses ZKsync’s Airbender zero-knowledge proof technology and has been audited by OpenZeppelin and Hacken. ADI Chain also provides settlement infrastructure for a dirham-backed stablecoin licensed by the UAE Central Bank.
Gibraltar’s Gambling Division licensed Predict Street Ltd as a betting intermediary under the 2005 Gambling Act on March 26, making it the first prediction market operator licensed in the territory and, officials said, the first formally licensed in Europe. Gibraltar’s Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, Nigel Feetham, described the approval as record-fast and linked the move to the territory’s economic response to UK gambling tax hikes. By contrast, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Portugal have restricted or blocked prediction market operators.
On April 2, FIFA and ADI Chain jointly announced ADI Predictstreet as the governing body’s first-ever Official Prediction Market Partner under a multi-year agreement covering the World Cup and beyond. The platform’s scheduled April 9 public launch has been delayed, with Predictstreet.io remaining in demo mode as of writing.
Front Office Sports reported that ADI Predictstreet is not working with IC360 or Sportradar, the two integrity-monitoring firms FIFA already engages for World Cup gambling oversight, and could not confirm whether any other monitor is in place. The Gibraltar license currently authorizes ADI Predictstreet to serve customers only within the territory itself – home to roughly 40,000 residents – leaving the platform unlicensed across the broader markets the FIFA and DAZN deals are designed to reach.
The ADI Predictstreet tie-up is DAZN’s second prediction market partnership of 2026. On January 20, DAZN announced a deal with Polymarket. Under that agreement, Polymarket’s real-time probability data is being integrated into DAZN’s live broadcasts, with plans to allow direct contract trading in-app.
DAZN Group CEO Shay Segev framed the ADI Predictstreet deal as a step toward embedding real-time prediction directly into the live viewing experience, while ADI Predictstreet CEO Dimitrios Psarrakis called it a defining moment for audience engagement with sport.
Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/dazn-to-embed-blockchain-backed-fifa-prediction-market-in-world-cup-2026-live-streams/
