Wall Street Pushes Into Sports Wagering With NHL Derivative ETFs
Volatility Shares has filed a prospectus with the SEC to launch 32 separate exchange-traded funds, one for every NHL team, each tracking that franchise's on-ice performance through a futures-based index.
The filing, submitted Aug. 14, covers all 32 teams alphabetically from an Anaheim Ducks ETF to a Winnipeg Jets ETF. Each fund would hold futures contracts tied to a CME FutureSports Performance Index built for one team.
The indexes are calculated by an independent firm called FutureSports using official real-time NHL data.
Each index starts every season at 7.5K, moves in real time as games are played, and resets once the postseason ends. The NHL is cooperating by providing data but did not participate in designing the indexes.
The ETFs would invest at least 80% of assets in the team-specific futures, along with other derivatives referencing the same index.
This isn’t like buying shares of Atlanta Braves Holdings and betting on the business. You’re betting directly on how the team performs on the ice.
Critics say this is gambling with an ETF wrapper
Tony Dong, founder and owner of ETF Portfolio Blueprint, described the structure as “a big derivative onion tied to a nonsensical index,” questioning its underlying economic value.
Dave Nadig, president of ETF.com, called the products "nonsense" but said the filing was "completely unsurprising" given the current regulatory environment.
"Nothing about these contracts is an investment. Nothing about them is a rational hedge for a financial position. They are pure and simple gambling vehicles running through a US government-regulated exchange."
Dave Nadig, ETF.com
Nadig pointed to the CFTC, which has already authorized binary sports contracts that pay a fixed amount if a team wins. He described the agency as effectively operating under one-man rule, unable to hold formal meetings or engage in standard rulemaking.
The filing arrives as the line between gambling and investing keeps blurring. Robinhood added prediction markets to its app in 2025 and says that business is growing faster than anything else it has launched.
New platform Novig, which focuses on sports contracts, reported $125M in trading volume in its first week after launching Aug. 4.
Gen Z is already treating betting like a portfolio strategy
A Betterment survey of 1K retail investors found that 26% of Gen Z investors view sports betting as a core part of their long-term financial plan. More than half of Gen Z respondents said they had redirected money intended for investing toward sports bets at some point in the past year.
Bloomberg Opinion columnist Matt Levine predicted there would be a sports gambling ETF by March 2027, noting that financial markets are increasingly functioning as betting platforms. He was ahead of schedule.
The SEC has not yet approved the Volatility Shares filing. Elisabeth Kashner of FactSet said investors "must do their own homework" as ETFs expand into more complex territory.
Whether regulators greenlight the funds or not, the convergence of Wall Street infrastructure and sports wagering is no longer theoretical.