Robinhood prediction markets review: event contracts, fees and state limits

Verdict: For people who already invest through Robinhood, its prediction markets are the most direct way into event contracts: no new account, no new funding method, and a help center that states plainly where sports are restricted. Its fee is capped rather than low. The commission never exceeds 1¢ per contract, but an exchange fee of up to another 1¢ is added, so 100 contracts at 50¢ can cost up to $2.00, against $1.75 on Kalshi directly. It is a weaker fit if you want a direct exchange account and every market an exchange lists, if you need to fund trades instantly, or if you live in Maryland, Michigan or Nevada and mainly want sports.

This is a documentary review drawn from Robinhood’s help center, CFTC records and court dockets, checked on October 4, 2026. We have not traded event contracts on Robinhood and do not assign a score.

Robinhood prediction markets at a glance

Operator

Robinhood Derivatives, LLC (CFTC-registered futures commission merchant)

Launched

Prediction markets hub launched March 2025

Regulatory status

CFTC-registered FCM routing to regulated exchanges (Kalshi, ForecastEx, Rothera, Crypto.com's CDNA)

Availability

US residents with an individual brokerage account. Sports contracts are unavailable in Maryland and Nevada, and new sports contracts have been prohibited in Michigan since Sep 9, 2026.

Minimum age

18+

Not available in

MD, MI, NV

Structure

Broker (FCM) that routes orders to several exchanges

Market categories

Sports, Politics, Weather, Commodities, Entertainment

Trading fees

Commission of 10% × P × (1−P) per contract (5% with Gold), rounded up and capped at $0.01 per contract, plus an exchange fee of up to $0.01

Minimum deposit

Settled cash only; instant deposits cannot fund event contracts

Settlement

Contracts settle on the listing exchange, paying $1 or $0 per contract

Funding methods

Settled cash in a Robinhood brokerage account

Withdrawal methods

Standard Robinhood brokerage withdrawals

Mobile apps

iOS: Yes · Android: Yes

Facts last verified

October 4, 2026

Still being verified: Current new-user promotions for prediction markets. We leave these out until we can confirm them with a primary source.

Who Robinhood prediction markets are for, and who should skip them

Robinhood fits you if you already hold a Robinhood individual brokerage account with settled cash, you want event contracts on the same statement as your investments, or you are a Gold member trading away from 50¢, where Gold halves the commission (for example $0.45 instead of $0.90 on 100 contracts at 90¢).

Consider skipping it if cost is your priority (on published maximums, Kalshi direct is cheaper at every price we modeled), you want the full Kalshi market list on a dedicated exchange, you rely on instant deposits, or you want a new-user offer. We found no official promotion for event contracts.

Company, structure and history

Event contracts at Robinhood are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, which Robinhood describes as a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant (FCM). An FCM is a broker: it holds customer accounts and sends orders to exchanges, but it does not list or settle the contracts itself.

According to Robinhood, orders route to four CFTC-regulated exchanges: KalshiEX LLC, ForecastEx LLC (Interactive Brokers’ affiliate), Rothera Exchange and Clearing LLC, and North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. (Crypto.com’s exchange). Rothera is the former LedgerX/MIAXdx; secondary reports say a Robinhood–Susquehanna joint venture acquired 90% of it in January 2026 and that it went live around June 2026.

Robinhood launched its prediction markets hub in March 2025, initially with Kalshi contracts, according to Axios. Its current fee structure took effect on June 1, 2026.

Regulation and legal status

Federally, both layers are CFTC-regulated: Robinhood Derivatives as the FCM, and each exchange as a designated contract market.

At the state level, Robinhood is a party in its own right, not only a channel for Kalshi:

• Nevada: the 9th Circuit ruled against Robinhood on August 28, 2026, alongside its rulings against Kalshi and Crypto.com (our report on the Nevada decisions). Robinhood has petitioned the Supreme Court (Robinhood Derivatives v. Dreitzer, No. 26-338), and Nevada’s response is due October 14, 2026. We explain how that petition fits with the others in prediction markets at the Supreme Court.
• Michigan: Robinhood says new sports event contracts have been prohibited since September 9, 2026.
• Maryland: sports contracts are unavailable, per Robinhood.
• Washington: Robinhood sued the state pre-emptively on April 1, 2026.
• Kentucky and Wisconsin have sued Robinhood along with other operators, and Connecticut sent Robinhood Derivatives a cease-and-desist letter in December 2025.
• California: tribes have brought claims against Kalshi and Robinhood under federal Indian gaming law.

Our state legal tracker shows the current posture state by state.

Where Robinhood prediction markets are available

Robinhood offers event contracts to US residents aged 18 or over with an individual brokerage account. As of October 4, 2026, its help center says sports contracts are unavailable in Maryland and Nevada, and new sports contracts have been prohibited in Michigan since September 9, 2026. Robinhood does not describe those restrictions as covering non-sports categories.

That list differs from Kalshi’s own court-ordered limits (Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Utah and Washington). Robinhood’s help center does not list Massachusetts, Utah or Washington, but because some Robinhood contracts are Kalshi-listed, confirm in the app which markets you can trade there.

Getting started

Robinhood’s help center ties eligibility to an individual brokerage account and settled cash. Based on that documentation:

1. Hold (or open) an individual Robinhood brokerage account, the account type Robinhood names as eligible.
2. Confirm you are 18 or over and located in a state where the contract category is offered.
3. Make sure you have settled cash; instant deposit funds cannot buy event contracts, so a new transfer has to settle first.
4. Open the prediction markets hub and choose a contract.

We have not walked through Robinhood’s screens and do not describe them.

Offer and promotions

We found no official Robinhood promotion for prediction markets as of October 4, 2026. If you see an event-contract bonus advertised elsewhere, check that it appears in Robinhood’s own terms before relying on it. Our prediction market promotions page lists only offers with official terms.

Markets and products

Robinhood lists event contracts in sports, politics, weather, commodities and entertainment. Each contract settles on its listing exchange at $1 if the outcome occurs and $0 if it does not. The price reflects that exchange’s order book and can be read roughly as an implied probability (65¢ suggests about a 65% chance) before fees.

Because Robinhood routes to several exchanges, settlement rules and liquidity depend on which exchange lists the contract. A Kalshi-listed contract follows Kalshi’s rulebook; a ForecastEx contract follows ForecastEx’s. Our guide to how prediction markets settle explains why the listing exchange’s rules decide the outcome. Robinhood does not publish order-book depth comparisons, and we have not measured them.

Robinhood prediction market fees

Robinhood’s official event-contracts article sets out the fee:

• Commission = k × P × (1 − P) × contracts, where k is 10% (5% with Robinhood Gold).
• The commission is rounded up to the cent and capped at $0.01 per contract.
• The exchange charges its own fee of up to $0.01 per contract.

Robinhood’s own example: 100 Yes contracts at 90¢ with Gold cost $0.45 in commission (5% × 0.90 × 0.10 × 100).

Worked example: 100 contracts at 50¢ (standard account)

At 50¢ a Gold member hits the same cap (5% × 0.25 × 100 = $1.25, capped at $1.00), so Gold makes no difference there. Away from 50¢ the formula, not the cap, sets the commission:

The exchange fee is an “up to” figure, so actual costs can be lower; Robinhood beats Kalshi direct only when that fee is well below its maximum. Our prediction market fees guide explains the mechanics.

Deposits and withdrawals

Event contracts are funded from settled cash in your Robinhood brokerage account; instant deposits do not qualify. Withdrawals use Robinhood’s standard brokerage withdrawal process. We have not confirmed a separate minimum for event contracts.

Mobile apps

Prediction markets live inside the Robinhood app on iOS and Android. We have not assessed the experience.

Safety and customer protections

Robinhood’s structure has two regulated layers. Robinhood Derivatives, the FCM, holds your account; the listing exchange, a CFTC-designated contract market, runs the order book and settles the contract. Binary contracts are paid for in full, so the maximum loss on a position is its cost plus fees.

The extra layer also adds a dependency: your access to a market depends on both Robinhood’s state decisions and the exchange’s court orders, which is why Robinhood’s restricted-state list does not match Kalshi’s. We have not reviewed Robinhood’s customer-fund disclosures for event contracts and do not describe them.

Pros and cons

Alternatives to Robinhood

• Kalshi gives direct exchange access, a $0.63 taker fee on 100 contracts at 10¢ or 90¢ (against up to $1.90 on Robinhood’s standard tier) and more funding methods, but blocks sports in five states. See the Kalshi review and Robinhood vs Kalshi.
• Polymarket US has an official $25 credit for a $10 deposit and pays makers a rebate. See the Polymarket US review.
• FanDuel Predicts has a dated new-customer offer of up to $100 (ending October 20, 2026) in its 18 sports states, with a flat 2%-of-payout fee. See the FanDuel Predicts review.
• Novig charges nothing on pre-game straight sports trades. See the Novig review.

Or see the best prediction markets ranked against our published criteria.

How we reviewed Robinhood

This is a documentary review. On October 4, 2026 we read Robinhood’s event-contracts help article, the CFTC’s list of designated contract markets, the Supreme Court docket in No. 26-338 and state filings, and we used named trade press for the launch date and Rothera background.

We have not placed event-contract trades through Robinhood. A hands-on testing log covering order entry, fee confirmations and settlement timing will be added once completed, and the page carries no score until then. See our methodology.

Visit Robinhood (opens the operator's site in a new tab)