NBA Strikes Prediction Market Deals With CFTC, Kalshi and Polymarket While NFL Opposes Federal Oversight

NBA joins major U.S. sports leagues in CFTC prediction market agreements

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has reached a data-sharing agreement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — the federal derivatives regulator — for prediction markets, and named Kalshi and Polymarket as its preferred exchanges for these trades. Prediction markets are platforms where people trade simple yes-or-no contracts based on the outcome of events, such as sports games.

The move, announced October 26, 2026, puts the NBA in line with other top U.S. sports leagues including Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL), which already have similar arrangements with the CFTC and prediction market platforms.

Key terms of the NBA's prediction market deals

• The NBA signed a memorandum of understanding with the CFTC to share data, with constraints reportedly meant to protect the integrity of sports-related wagering.


• Kalshi and Polymarket will serve as the league's official preferred prediction market exchanges.


• The league and the platforms will share integrity data, report suspicious trading activity, and cooperate on investigations.


• The agreements aim to create safeguards for the growing prediction market category while offering new ways for fans to engage with the sport, according to NBA officials.

Statements from regulators and league officials

Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA's head of media distribution and partnerships, said the league believes it is important to work with regulators and operators to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place as the prediction market category develops.

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig called the NBA's decision "a responsible step toward protecting sports integrity and market participants from abuses in prediction markets like insider trading and fraud." Selig has actively pushed to expand the prediction market industry through legal fights with states, new regulations, and these information-sharing agreements with sports leagues.

NFL takes opposing stance on prediction market regulation

The National Football League (NFL) has rejected similar deals with the CFTC and prediction market platforms. The league has instead aligned with U.S. state governments in a nationwide legal fight over who should oversee prediction market betting. The NFL claims the CFTC's federal oversight is lax and understaffed, and that prediction market platforms are not held to the same strict regulatory standards as state-regulated gambling operations.

Courts split on prediction market regulatory authority

Several U.S. states maintain that prediction market gambling should be governed by their own state gambling laws, not federal CFTC rules. Three major federal court decisions have split on the issue, with two rulings in favor of the states' position. The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to step in and resolve the ongoing dispute, including through a filing from the NFL.

Sources

• CoinDesk