Underdog is now using Eventus Systems’ Validus platform to monitor trading on its prediction-market exchange. The two companies announced the arrangement Thursday.
Eventus, based in Austin, Texas, builds trade surveillance and risk software for exchanges, broker-dealers and futures firms. Validus is already active on Underdog’s markets, and the company plans to expand its use of the platform.
Underdog launched prediction markets in the US in September 2025 with Crypto.com | Derivatives North America (CDNA) event contracts, later adding Kalshi as another third-party exchange. In March, it acquired a designated contract market (DCM) and derivatives clearing organization (DCO) registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), then launched its own prediction-market exchange in July.
An Underdog spokesperson told NextPredict.io that the surveillance data has one purpose: regulatory compliance. It will remain within Underdog’s compliance operation, with any required findings passed to the CFTC under the rules governing DCMs.
Why Underdog chose Eventus
Underdog Chief Compliance Officer Nick Thompson said the decision came down to Eventus’ track record. Regulators already know and trust the platform, he said, and its history serving a variety of operators in multiple sectors gave Underdog a head start in building out its surveillance systems.
“Underdog’s mission is to build markets people can trust, and that starts with rigorous oversight,” Thompson said.
He added that surveillance is “core to maintaining a fair, orderly market” as the exchange scales.
Thompson explained that he has used Validus for the past several years, first when he was the chief compliance officer of a trading firm. Later, he continued its use while leading swap trading platforms and other DCMs through CFTC licensing, a process in which surveillance capability is a central requirement.
Validus continues to shape market oversight
Thompson said Validus’ flexibility lets Underdog tailor alerts to its own market structure instead of reshaping its business around the tool. He also pointed to Eventus’ work on automation and machine learning, including the AI-driven query tool “Frank.”
Underdog added in comments to NextPredict.io that Frank lets its team build complex queries and search historical data quickly and accurately. The company said that gives its compliance team a more efficient way to investigate trading activity and maximize its resources.
Eventus counts several other prediction-market companies among its clients. Novig announced at the end of June that it had deployed Validus, followed by Rothera, the exchange and clearinghouse run through a Robinhood-Susquehanna joint venture, in July and STX in August. STX’s planned US exchange, XV Exchange, is still awaiting CFTC approval.
Eventus’ client base also spans tier-1 banks, proprietary trading firms, market centers and buy-side institutions across equities, options, futures, foreign exchange, fixed income and digital assets.
Eventus CEO Cameron Routh pointed out that prediction markets are drawing heightened scrutiny as the sector expands rapidly. He said that partnerships such as the one with Underdog help shape the company’s product roadmap for prediction markets, digital assets and traditional capital markets.
Prediction markets have surged in the US as operators seek CFTC licenses that let them offer sports and other event contracts nationally, sidestepping the patchwork of state gambling laws that govern traditional sportsbooks.
Regulators have signaled closer attention to how these newly licensed exchanges monitor trading activity for manipulation and irregular patterns as volumes climb.