Daniel Zurakov Joins Sportradar as VP of Prediction Markets

Sportradar has appointed Daniel Zurakov, former Vice President of Markets at ProphetX, as its new Vice President of Prediction Markets. This move reinforces Sportradar's strategy to consolidate its position in the growing event contract sector. Zurakov arrives after leading the growth of ProphetX, a platform that recently received substantial funding and increased its regulatory reach.

Sportradar’s Commitment to Prediction Markets

Zurakov's appointment strengthens Sportradar's ambition, especially during 2026, to position itself as a central player in providing data and solutions for prediction markets. The New York-listed company has secured supply agreements with specialized platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket. In the case of Kalshi, Sportradar acts as the official data provider and solution supplier for major sports leagues such as MLB, NHL, and UFC, enabling Sportradar to negotiate directly with Kalshi partners, including market makers and brokers.

The agreement with Polymarket expands Sportradar's offer to include sports data services, streaming, and integrity solutions, demonstrating the increasing interest in prediction markets among providers and operators. Genius Sports, Sportradar's main competitor, maintains similar agreements with both platforms, highlighting competition in the provision of information and integrity in this new vertical.

Daniel Zurakov's Background and ProphetX's Role

Daniel Zurakov joined ProphetX in December after a five-year tenure at Kapital Trading as COO and Product Director. Under his leadership, ProphetX closed a $35 million funding round during the summer, led by Parlay Capital and Data Point Capital, with the participation of FDJ UNITED Ventures. This investment aimed to strengthen the B2B unit, increase liquidity, and accelerate product development. Subsequently, the platform received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in mid-June, formalizing its entry into the regulated U.S. market. ProphetX was originally established in New Jersey as a betting exchange.

Announcing his new role at Sportradar, Zurakov stated:

"Prediction markets are rapidly evolving into a new institutional trading vertical, and Sportradar is uniquely positioned to drive that evolution with world-class sports data, technology, and global reach."

Zurakov indicated that his goal is to build and scale the business, expand the ecosystem, and connect next-generation markets with high standards in sports data.

Market Outlook for Prediction Markets According to Sportradar

In the latest earnings call, Sportradar's Chief Financial Officer, Craig Felenstein, highlighted the potential of the prediction markets segment:

"We have just begun to explore the opportunity of prediction markets. Our interest has been increasing over the last three months, given the multiple inquiries received from the ecosystem: exchanges, brokers, and market makers."

The company perceives a growing demand in the sector, which has raised its expectations for this niche compared to previous quarters.

Funding, Expansion, and Competition

The capital raised by ProphetX during the summer of 2026 supports the growth of prediction markets and strengthens the infrastructure for B2B products. Obtaining federal regulatory approval allows ProphetX to operate within a secure framework and scale its operations. Sportradar, for its part, ensures a robust portfolio of data and services, actively competing with Genius Sports in providing information for leading platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

For further details on developments in data solutions and markets, please refer to our b2b section.