The 2026 World Cup is in full swing, and while soccer fans are glued to their screens, investors might want to keep an eye on DraftKings (DKNG). The sportsbook operator is having a tournament for the ages, with record engagement and a shiny new product that sent its stock climbing on Friday.

DraftKings announced the launch of DKeX, a proprietary prediction markets exchange that lives right inside the DraftKings sportsbook and casino app. Think of it as a one-stop shop for betting on games and predicting outcomes like “which team will score first” or “how many yellow cards will be shown.” The company had already dabbled in prediction markets, but DKeX brings the whole operation in-house, thanks to its earlier acquisition of Railbird Technologies, a CFTC-licensed platform. The idea is to keep users from wandering off to other apps for their prediction fix.

News of DKeX pushed DraftKings stock up 5.15% to $24.29 on Friday, though it’s still down 32.3% year-to-date and trading well below its 52-week high of $48.78. But the real story might be the numbers DraftKings shared alongside the launch.

The company reported that its DraftKings Prediction segment is seeing massive growth during the World Cup. For the week ending June 21, the segment clocked $3.4 billion in annualized consumer volume and $11.3 billion in annualized trading volume. That’s a lot of people making predictions about soccer matches. And it’s not just the prediction market that’s on fire. After just one week of the tournament, DraftKings said its handle on the World Cup was five times higher than at the same stage of the 2022 World Cup.

Two matches in particular stood out: the U.S. vs. Paraguay and Morocco vs. Brazil. DraftKings said those were the two largest soccer events in company history, both in terms of betting handle and active customers. Keep in mind, that was after just one match for each team. The U.S. team, which won its group and will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, is clearly a draw for American bettors.

This year’s World Cup has a different structure than previous ones. Instead of 32 teams, there are 48, and the knockout stage now includes 32 teams instead of 16. That means 104 games total, up from 64 in 2022. More games mean more betting opportunities, and a longer run for the U.S. team could be a huge tailwind for DraftKings. In 2022, the U.S. lost to the Netherlands in the round of 16; this year, they’ve already advanced past the group stage and have a favorable path.

DraftKings also noted that “combos” — where users bundle multiple outcomes into one prediction — now account for about 40% of trading volume on its prediction market. That’s a sign that users are getting comfortable with the product and placing more complex bets.

So, while the stock has had a rough year, the World Cup is providing a nice boost. Whether DraftKings can sustain this momentum after the tournament ends is another question, but for now, the company is enjoying its moment in the sun.