IG Group Is Buying Underdog for $1.1B —
Will Your Account Change?

The Deal in Numbers

IG Group published the details in a regulatory announcement on July 30. The key figures:

• Upfront value: about $1.1 billion enterprise value.
• Earnout: up to about $200 million more, tied to Underdog's 2026 net gaming revenue — taking the total to as much as roughly $1.3 billion.
• How it's paid: about 24.1 million new IG shares plus about $380 million in cash. On top of that, IG will repay Underdog's existing debt at completion, expected to be about $160 million.
• Financing: a $450 million bridge facility from Barclays and Goldman Sachs.
• Valuation: the upfront price is about 2.4x Underdog's net revenue of $466 million for the 12 months to June 30, 2026.

That $1.1 billion headline is the upfront number. The full figure depends on how Underdog performs this year.

An earnout is common in deals for fast-growing companies. The buyer pays a fixed price now and agrees to pay more later only if the business hits agreed targets. Here, the extra payment is tied to Underdog's 2026 net gaming revenue. For players, it also signals that IG expects Underdog to keep growing as a business — not to be folded into something else.

The share component matters too. Paying partly in IG stock means some of Underdog's current owners will become IG shareholders, which aligns them with how the combined company performs after closing.

Who Is IG Group?

If you've never heard of IG, you're not alone among U.S. fantasy players. IG Group is a London-listed online trading company. Its U.S. business is tastytrade, a brokerage platform for active traders.

That context explains the deal. IG isn't a casino company or a sportsbook. It's a trading company, and it's buying into the place where sports and trading now overlap: prediction markets.

IG CEO Breon Corcoran framed it that way in the announcement: "Underdog puts us at the front of that convergence: a product-first team, a leading daily fantasy sports franchise and a full licence stack."

According to IG, the deal more than doubles its U.S. revenue and increases its U.S. active customer base more than tenfold. That second number is the telling one. tastytrade serves active traders, a relatively narrow audience. Underdog brings a large base of sports fans who already trade event contracts inside a fantasy app. For IG, that's a shortcut to a much bigger U.S. customer base than it could build from tastytrade alone.

What IG Is Buying

The announcement gives a detailed look at Underdog's numbers:

IG describes Underdog as the second-largest U.S. DFS operator by revenue and the third-largest prediction market venue by notional volume. IG also said more than 60% of Underdog's monthly active users are under 30, and more than 80% are under 40 — a young audience for a trading company to add.

Then there's the license stack. Earlier this month Underdog launched UDX, its own CFTC-licensed exchange, built on the exchange and clearing licenses it acquired in March. Together with its futures commission merchant registration, that gives Underdog the full set of federal licenses to list, clear, and hold customer funds for event contracts. We covered what that means in our UDX explainer. For a trading company like IG, that infrastructure is a big part of the appeal.

How Underdog Got Here

The deal caps a fast year of change at Underdog. Based on industry coverage over the past several months:

• September 2025: Underdog launched prediction markets, initially routed through Crypto.com, with Kalshi added later.
• Late 2025: Underdog withdrew its Missouri sportsbook application in November and shut its North Carolina sportsbook in December, as reported by Covers — narrowing its focus to fantasy and prediction markets.
• March 2026: Underdog acquired Aristotle Exchange's contract-market and clearing entities, giving it CFTC licenses of its own.
• July 18, 2026: Underdog launched UDX, its in-house exchange, and began moving prediction markets onto it.
• July 30, 2026: IG Group announced the agreement to acquire Underdog.

Seen in that order, the IG deal makes sense. Underdog spent the year building the license stack a trading company would want, then a trading company showed up to buy it. IG called Underdog a "full licence stack" business for a reason.

Will Your Account Change?

Here's what the announcement says, point by point.

Today: no change

This is an agreement to acquire, not a completed sale. Completion requires U.S. regulatory approvals and clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, the federal antitrust review for large deals. IG expects completion in late 2026 or early 2027. Until the deal closes, Underdog remains a separate company running its business as usual.

After closing: Underdog stays Underdog

IG says Underdog will operate as a standalone business that keeps "its own brand, management team and operational platform." In plain terms:

• The brand stays. No rename was announced.
• The leadership stays. CEO Jeremy Levine will continue to run Underdog, reporting to IG CEO Breon Corcoran. IG's announcement describes Underdog as led by Levine and co-founder and Chief Product Officer Brandon Stakenborg.
• The platform stays. Underdog keeps its own operational platform, so the app you use today is the app IG is buying.

Levine's message was that the deal is about doing more, not changing course: "We built Underdog by creating the best experience for fans… we're going to take an incredible leap in what we can offer customers."

What the announcement doesn't cover

The announcement doesn't spell out specific product changes, promotions, or account terms after closing. IG does describe a strategy of moving customers "from sports and prediction markets into active trading," scaled through tastytrade in the U.S., but it doesn't say what that will look like inside the Underdog app. Anyone telling you exactly what the app will look like in 2027 is guessing.

Quick Answers to Common Questions

Will Underdog be renamed?

No rename was announced. IG says Underdog keeps its own brand as a standalone business.

Do I need an IG or tastytrade account?

Nothing in the announcement says Underdog users will need one.

Will promotions or deposit bonuses change?

The announcement doesn't address promotions. Underdog's current offers are run by Underdog, and any changes would come from Underdog directly. Always read the terms on any offer before you deposit.

Could the deal fall through?

Any deal that needs regulatory approvals can be delayed or blocked. IG has stated an expected completion window of late 2026 or early 2027, but until it closes, it's an agreement — not a done deal.

Will Underdog leave my state?

The announcement doesn't mention any changes to state availability. State availability depends on each state's rules, which change on their own schedule. Check the Underdog app for what's offered where you live.

What Players Should Do Now

• Keep playing as normal. Your contests, best ball drafts, balance, and withdrawals work the same way today as they did before the announcement.
• Read official notices. If terms of service or privacy policies change after closing, Underdog will notify users. Read those notices when they arrive rather than relying on social media.
• Don't change your bankroll plan because of headlines. Ownership news doesn't change your edge on a pick'em entry. Our 1% bankroll rule applies either way.
• Check availability in your state. Underdog's products are available in eligible states — check your state in the app. That's true before and after any deal.

The Regulatory Angle

U.S. approvals are the main gate here, and fantasy contests are licensed state by state. Some states specifically regulate changes in ownership.

Virginia's new fantasy contest law, which took effect July 1, is a useful illustration of how states think about ownership. Once its new permit system is up and running, anyone acquiring control of a permitted fantasy contest operator must apply for a permit of their own. We covered that law in our Illinois and Virginia DFS law update. The point for players: regulators care who owns the apps they license, which is part of why deals like this take months to close.

Then there's the prediction-market side. Underdog's UDX operates under CFTC licenses, while states continue to fight over whether sports event contracts can be offered within their borders. That legal debate predates this deal and will continue regardless of who owns Underdog.

What It Means for the Industry

A few takeaways:

• Trading and sports are converging. A large financial trading company just agreed to buy a fantasy-and-prediction-markets app. That says a lot about where both industries think customers are heading.
• Fantasy plus markets is the model. IG is paying about 2.4x trailing net revenue for a company that combines DFS with prediction markets — not for a pure fantasy app or a pure exchange.
• Competition stays strong. PrizePicks, DraftKings, and FanDuel are all building their own prediction-market products. For players, competition usually means more features and better promotions.

If you're comparing Underdog against its biggest pick'em rival, our Underdog vs PrizePicks breakdown is the place to start.

The Bottom Line

IG Group's deal for Underdog is big news for the industry, but your account doesn't change today. The deal still needs U.S. regulatory and antitrust approvals and isn't expected to close until late 2026 or early 2027. After it closes, IG says Underdog keeps its brand, its management, and its platform, with Jeremy Levine still in charge.

For players, the right move is the boring one: keep playing your normal game, read official notices when they arrive, and ignore anyone claiming to know exactly what changes next. If you want more than one pick'em app in your rotation, it's a good time to have both Underdog and PrizePicks set up.