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What is Chicken Route?
Two operators alone – Kalshi and Polymarket – topped the combined $1 billion mark in NFL trading activity over the first six days of Week 1, according to numerous measures this week. During the period, Kalshi recorded NFL volume of $983.4 million, according to DeFi Rate, earning the pole position by a large margin. Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs thrashed the Denver Broncos 31-10 on Monday Night Football, capping the largest week for prediction markets ever.
Even before the primetime matchup in Kansas City, it became abundantly clear that the industry would shatter previous marks for weekly activity. The AFC West showdown bolstered the already robust totals. Overall, volume for the week hit a record $15.9 billion, according to Bank of America, up 16% from a week earlier.
The pure-play prediction market-operators, Polymarket and Kalshi, emerged from Week 1 as the clear winners. On one hand, Kalshi’s market share lead narrowed over its competitors, falling to 82% for the week ended 13 September, down from 86% a week earlier.
About Chicken Route
Tests carried out using a VPN to access banned markets found Evolution’s games had been available to players in the prohibited jurisdictions of UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.
However, further tests found that while using a VPN, Spectrum could not access Evolution’s games in the sanctioned markets of Iran, Sudan and Syria, despite claims to the contrary made by Black Cube in its prior report.
“When we attempted to play games in those locales using VPNs, we were repeatedly denied access,” Spectrum states. It therefore said it found the allegations linked to these countries were “unsupportable and lacking credibility and proper foundation”.
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Polymarket may defend any substantial investment in marketing given the overwhelming impact on customer acquisition that ensued. On Tuesday, Polymarket ranked first on the App Store in downloads for free finance apps, topping archrival Kalshi, Capital One Mobile and prominent payment providers PayPal and Venmo.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from iGB.
A bevy of participating athletes took to social media this week to share their thoughts on the campaign. An X post from Leguizamo, a longtime comedian, encapsulated the fast-paced nature of prediction markets.
