Polymarket, one of the leading prediction markets in the industry, and La Liga, Spain’s top-tier professional soccer league, have reached a multi-year agreement that will attract a wider North American audience to the league while giving Polymarket access to La Liga’s intellectual property.
La Liga’s Growing Presence
Founded in 1929, the elite Spanish soccer league, La Liga, is in the middle of a 20-year pact with Relevent, the world’s leading privately owned commercial partner with a dedicated focus on international soccer, to grow its North American audience.
European soccer has seen an increase in popularity in the US and Canada, which is one of the many reasons Relevent struck a deal on behalf of La Liga with Polymarket, one of the leading prediction market platforms in the United States.
Relevent’s CEO, Boris Gartner, released an announcement, saying, “Soccer’s growth, especially in North America, is spearheaded by young, diverse, and multicultural audiences who consume the game across multiple screens, so it’s our goal to continue to engage these demographics in new and unique ways. We must go beyond traditional engagement efforts to bring these audiences closer to the beautiful game than ever before, and we couldn’t think of a better partner than Polymarket to achieve that.”
Relevent has cultivated relationships between La Liga and several quintessential American corporations like McDonald’s, Walmart, Lowe’s, and Verizon, to name only a handful.
Why Did Polymarket Partner With La Liga?
Polymarket is a burgeoning financial company whose prediction market platform has been growing increasingly popular due to its sports event contracts.
“Our goal is to give fans a more expressive way to follow the game, where opinions on players, matches, and season outcomes can be reflected in real time,” said Shayne Coplan, Founder and CEO of Polymarket. “Partnering with LALIGA brings that level of interaction to one of the most passionate global fanbases and introduces a new, more dynamic way for North American audiences to engage with the league.”
This is the first European league to partner with Polymarket, but soccer is not new to the prediction market entity. Polymarket is already entrenched with the MLS, the MLS Cup, the MLS All-Star, and the Leagues Cup.
Cracking Down on Insider Trading
Polymarket and its chief rival, Kalshi, have been under scrutiny for several curiously timed trades that signal inside information may be being used to make money on geopolitical events.
An energy trader recently said, “We’ve seen very large bets going on minutes before a major announcement comes up. The speculation is that someone on the inside has loaded up their crypto account to make some quick money on a bet.”
Inferring that insider trading is rampant in the realm of prediction markets gives the industry a black eye.
How Is Polymarket Addressing Integrity Issues?
To that end, Polymarket recently announced a partnership with Palantir Technologies and TWG AI to develop a next-generation integrity platform for sports betting and prediction markets, which will supplant the current integrity monitoring systems used by sportsbooks and professional sports leagues.
Shayne Coplan, Founder & CEO of Polymarket, said, “Our partnership with Palantir and TWG AI allows us to apply world-class analytics and monitoring to sports markets while building tools that can help leagues and teams maintain confidence in the games themselves. Our goal has always been to give fans new ways to engage with the sports they love while ensuring those markets can grow responsibly on a global scale.”
