Underdog

Is Underdog safe?

Underdog is a large, legitimate company with better self-exclusion options than most sports apps, but it is built to keep you playing and it collects a lot about you. Its App Store listing claims over $2 billion in winnings paid and pitches a mix of pick'em contests, sports prediction markets, a pitch-by-pitch "Crash" game and packs of trading cards called Underdog Rips. In most states it is open from 18. We score it 46/100, below PrizePicks (52).

What Underdog actually sells now

Underdog started in 2020 with best-ball Drafts. Today the app front page leads with prediction markets: moneylines, spreads, totals and player picks that run on UDX, an exchange operated by Aristotle Exchange DCM, Inc. and regulated by the CFTC. It launched its own exchange in July 2026 after earlier distributing Crypto.com's event contracts, RotoWire reported. In July 2026 IG Group, a London-listed trading company, agreed to buy Underdog for up to about $1.3 billion, with completion expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

Two newer products deserve a closer look. Crash pays a multiplier that rises while a batter stays alive, and you must cash out before he is out, a format borrowed from online casinos. Underdog Rips sells digital packs of trading cards with posted odds; you can keep a card or "flip it back for cash". Both are quick, repeatable and tied to cash, which is the pattern most linked to gambling harm.

The state-by-state fight

Underdog has a long record of state pushback, and it is getting longer.

• Maine sent a cease-and-desist letter in May 2023 and proposed a $391,850 fine that October for pick'em games that did not fit the state's fantasy definition. Underdog stopped pick'em there.
• Florida sent two rounds of cease-and-desist letters, and Underdog left by 1 March 2024. Arkansas ordered pick'em out in February 2024.
• New York's Gaming Commission found that Underdog had offered contests in the state without authorisation from July 2020 to December 2022, and after that some contests its subsidiary Synkt's temporary permit did not cover. Underdog agreed in March 2025 to stop them and pay $17,539,073, without admitting the findings.
• Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection ordered nine prediction-market firms, including Underdog Predict, to stop sports contracts in September 2026 and to let customers withdraw their money. Tennessee followed with an order on 9 October 2026, warning of fines and the loss of Underdog's fantasy licence.

Underdog is fighting rather than leaving. It sued Massachusetts and New Mexico on 8 September 2026, then Connecticut and Tennessee after their orders. In September it also gave up its fantasy licences in seven states (Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio) because regulators there said a company could not hold one and sell CFTC event contracts too. For users, the practical point is that a market you can trade this week may be switched off where you live next week.

We count the New York settlement in full, as we do PrizePicks' $14.97 million New York penalty: both followed years of contests in the state without authorisation, and both amounts were based on that revenue. Connecticut's order also said the platforms it named take bets from under-21s and people on the state's self-exclusion list.

What data does Underdog collect?

More than most of its rivals declare. Apple's label lists coarse location, email, user and device IDs, product interaction and advertising data as used to track you across other companies' apps and websites. PrizePicks' label lists only contact info for that purpose.

The Global Privacy Policy, effective 17 July 2026, adds Social Security, passport and driver's licence numbers, tax details, and GPS or IP location for eligibility checks. It says Underdog shares personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising, which may count as a sale under California law. One line stands out: Underdog "may share information such as your username, region, first deposit amount, and whether you are an active user with third parties to be used in their marketing efforts".

The Fantasy Terms of Use also say that any claims over Underdog's use of the Meta Pixel, cookies or other tracking code are "fully waived". Whether that holds up in court is another matter, but it tells you how the company sees the issue. Underdog does honour Global Privacy Control signals, and you can request deletion through its Privacy Request Center.

Tools against gambling harm

Underdog's tools are better than average for an event-contract app:

• Limits on deposits, contest entries and entry fees, with a cool-down period before a change takes effect.
• Self-exclusion for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3, 5 or 10 years, set directly in the app.
• Reports from family members or friends who are worried about a player.
• State caps where required, such as $2,500 a month in Tennessee.

The weak spot is age. In most states an 18-year-old can open an account, while licensed sportsbooks nearly everywhere require 21.

How to use Underdog more safely

1. Set a deposit limit before your first deposit, not after a losing streak.
2. Skip Crash and Rips if you are prone to chasing losses; they settle in seconds.
3. Turn on Global Privacy Control in your browser and choose "Ask App Not to Track" on iPhone.
4. Turn on any stronger sign-in option Underdog offers, and use a unique password.
5. If you want to stop, choose a long self-exclusion rather than deleting the app.

How we scored it

Security (56) is the strongest factor, with no reported breach but little published detail. Privacy (38) reflects cross-app tracking and marketing data sharing, and scams and harmful content (38) a casino-style mix open from 18. The regulatory record (42) reflects the $17.5 million New York settlement and repeated state orders. Sleeper scores 51 and Novig 47.