Robinhood shifts World Cup bets to Rothera for infrastructure test

Robinhood is betting on itself. Literally.

The company has started routing select FIFA World Cup event contracts through Rothera, the derivatives exchange it co-owns with Susquehanna International Group, rather than relying entirely on Kalshi. The move covers individual match outcomes, overall tournament winners, and total goals contracts.

Robinhood shares climbed more than 6% following the announcement.

Why Robinhood is building its own exchange

Rothera received CFTC approval and began self-certifying soccer event contracts in May 2026, with certification filings for four specific soccer contracts submitted on May 28. Rothera reported over $2 million in trading volume during a recent weekend. Robinhood was previously handling around 3 billion event contracts per month, generating roughly $30 million in monthly revenue.

Robinhood entered the prediction markets space in early 2025 through a partnership with Kalshi, initially focusing on NFL and college football contracts. In November 2025, Robinhood alongside Susquehanna International Group acquired a majority stake in the LedgerX exchange, which has since been rebranded as Rothera. CEO Vlad Tenev emphasized Rothera’s plans for a Q2 2026 launch during recent earnings calls, pointing out the benefits of having a fully integrated market platform over previous fee-sharing arrangements with partners.

The World Cup as a stress test

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is hosted across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Not everything is moving off Kalshi — some World Cup contracts will remain on the third-party exchange while Robinhood gauges Rothera’s performance under live conditions.