Event Contract Trading
Event contracts are binary outcome contracts that let you trade on the outcome of real-world events — from economic indicators and politics to sports and weather.
Key Concepts
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Category | Broad classification grouping related series (e.g., Economics, Sports) |
| Series | A collection of related events within a category |
| Event | A collection of markets — the basic unit you interact with |
| Market | A specific binary outcome within an event, with yes/no positions, prices, and settlement rules |
Supported Categories
Economics, Financials, Politics, Entertainment, Science & Technology, Climate and Weather, Transportation, Crypto, and Sports.
Prerequisites
- Open an Event trading account via the Webull App.
- Sign the required trading agreements or disclosures. These can be signed in the app or through a signing URL returned by the API.
- Sign any additional agreement required for a specific category, such as Sports.
Supported Order Modes
Event contracts use LIMIT as the order_type. The execution behavior and required quantity fields depend on the selected mode.
| Mode | Required fields | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Limit order by contracts | entrust_type: QTY, quantity, limit_price | Places an order at the specified limit price |
| Limit order by amount | entrust_type: AMOUNT, total_cash_amount, side: BUY, time_in_force: FOK | Supported only for buy orders; the order must fill completely or be cancelled |
| Best-available-price by amount | event_trade_mode: TRADE_IN_AMOUNT, amount field | Executes at the best available market price; limit_price is ignored |
| Best-available-price by contracts | event_trade_mode: TRADE_IN_CONTRACT, quantity | Executes the requested contract quantity at the best available market price; limit_price is ignored |
Supported time_in_force values are DAY, GTC, IOC, GTD, and FOK. Valid combinations depend on the selected order mode. When using GTD, provide the required expiration date.
Event contract quantities may contain up to two decimal places when the instrument supports fractional contracts.
Trading Hours
Trading hours vary by contract type:
| Contract Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Crypto Event Contracts | Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET |
| Index Event Contracts | Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET |
| Economic Event Contracts | Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM ET |
| Sports Event Contracts (Cleared Swaps) | 24/7, excluding maintenance windows |
Trading hours are contract-specific and may change as new contracts are introduced. Check the instrument details before submitting an order.
Trading Rules
- Event contracts are not leveraged — buying "Yes" at $0.50 costs $0.50 per contract, plus applicable fees.
- Event contracts are not subject to Pattern Day Trader rules.
- Supported position actions and maximum order size can depend on the account, agreement, and individual instrument.
- Buying the "No" outcome provides exposure to the opposite result of the event.
Limit Order Example
Buy 5 "Yes" contracts at $0.10 per contract:
{
"account_id": "<your_account_id>",
"new_orders": [
{
"combo_type": "NORMAL",
"client_order_id": "<unique_id>",
"symbol": "KXRATECUTCOUNT-26DEC31-T3",
"instrument_type": "EVENT",
"market": "US",
"order_type": "LIMIT",
"limit_price": "0.10",
"quantity": "5",
"side": "BUY",
"time_in_force": "DAY",
"entrust_type": "QTY",
"event_outcome": "yes"
}
]
}
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
symbol | Event market symbol. Use Event Contract Instruments to look up tradable symbols. |
instrument_type | Must be EVENT |
event_outcome | yes or no |
order_type | Must be LIMIT; best-available-price execution is selected through event_trade_mode |
time_in_force | DAY, GTC, IOC, GTD, or FOK, subject to the selected order mode |
entrust_type | QTY or AMOUNT; amount-based event orders require side: BUY and time_in_force: FOK |
limit_price | Required for limit-price execution; ignored when event_trade_mode is set |
quantity | Required for contract-based orders and may support up to two decimal places |
event_trade_mode | Optional best-available-price mode: TRADE_IN_AMOUNT or TRADE_IN_CONTRACT |
Use the discovery endpoints to find tradable event contracts:
Settlement and Expiry
When a market is resolved:
- Winning contracts settle according to the contract terms.
- Losing contracts expire without value.
- Trading is no longer available after the market closes or settles.
Monitor order and position changes through Trade Event Subscription.
Event Market Data
Use Event Contract Series and Event Contract Instruments to discover markets. See the Market Data API reference for snapshots, depth, bars, and tick data.
Fees
For the current fee schedule, see Webull Pricing.