WSJ Report: Suspicious World Cup Trades on ADI Predictstreet

The 2026 World Cup ended months ago, but the scandals tied to it aren’t over yet.

A Wall Street Journal report identified over $150 million in circular trades on ADI PredictStreet, FIFA’s official prediction partner.

According to the WSJ, around $108 million of the operator’s $167 million volume through September came from the same crypto account. The player traded exclusively with itself using the same account that collects PredictStreet’s trading fees. This suggests the operator was trading against itself to inflate its volume and revenue.

Securing a FIFA deal to be the official prediction partner for the 2026 World Cup was a massive win for PredictStreet. It had previously seen little volume and was relatively unknown worldwide, yet it still landed a company-changing deal from FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The scandal around the platform has led many to wonder whether PredictStreet's impressive World Cup volume can truly be trusted. The fear is that a young, desperate company faked trades to spike volume, seek similar partnerships with other sports leagues, and avoid embarrassing results that could tarnish the brand.

Gibraltar’s prediction regulator has confirmed a preliminary review showed the mysterious trades didn’t harm consumers and that PredictStreet complied with self-trading regulations.

UAE Royals Back in the Spotlight

ADI PredictStreet is owned by a major United Arab Emirates conglomerate backed by the country’s Abu Dhabi Royal Family. This tie could prove devastating for PredictStreet as it tries to weather the scandal.

Earlier this fall, the English Premier League and UEFA charged the Royal Family-owned Manchester City with 115 financial breaches and ultimately found it guilty of all but one.

The investigation found that Man City had used fake contracts and buried costs to appear more profitable than it was. This allowed it to accept additional funds from the Royal Family without alerting the leagues, resulting in the signing of many high-priced stars. 

The scandal affected the entire league, which scrambled to find ways to compete with Man City's finances. 

While the Royal Family has denied all allegations, its reputation has taken a significant hit. That won’t help PredictStreet, which also faces accusations of financial misconduct. Even if the platform avoids prosecution, it will be hard to sway public opinion back in its favor.