Sept 2 (Reuters) - Sports gaming company Underdog has

partnered with Crypto.com's U.S. derivatives arm to allow

customers to wager on sporting leagues through event contracts,

the companies said on Tuesday.

The contracts will allow users to trade across all major

sports leagues, including the NFL, college football, the NBA and

the MLB.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

For millions of fans already betting on games through

fantasy games or sportsbooks, event contracts present another

way to speculate the outcomes in real time, potentially drawing

new audiences.

CONTEXT

Event contracts allow traders to bet on specific outcomes,

offering opportunities to profit from predictions on everything

from sports and entertainment to politics and the economy.

Their popularity exploded in the lead up to the U.S.

presidential election in November. Robinhood,

Polymarket and Kalshi also offer event contracts.

While proponents see the instrument as a new avenue for

traders, it has faced challenges related to its legitimacy.

Critics have likened event contracts to "gambling."

The contracts offered by Underdog and Crypto.com, however,

are federally compliant, the companies said.

KEY QUOTES

"Prediction markets have obviously captured national

attention and very much been in the zeitgeist. But the thing

we've learned is they're really going to be about sports. Over

95% of the volume is going to be about sports," Underdog founder

and CEO Jeremy Levine said in an interview.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)