NBA picks Kalshi and Polymarket, signs CFTC memorandum

At a glance

The NBA has made Kalshi and Polymarket its “Preferred Prediction Market Exchange”, AP reported on Monday. The deals run for multiple years; terms were not disclosed.
The league also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulator of the exchanges.
Kalshi says the agreement restricts which markets can be offered and bars league and team personnel from trading NBA event contracts.

A major sports league is now helping write the rules for trading on its games. The legal fight over who regulates that trading is not settled.

Put simply, the NBA chose to shape the market from inside rather than wait for courts to decide whether it is betting.

What the deals cover

Kalshi and Polymarket will get official NBA data, distributed by Sportradar, to run and settle authorised NBA markets, according to AP and Kalshi’s announcement. They can also use league logos and other intellectual property.

The integrity terms are the core. Kalshi says it and the league will share integrity data, report suspicious trading and cooperate on investigations.

“We will have the right to approve the types of markets that are available on our games,” Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA’s head of media distribution and partnerships, told AP.

The league is also extending its deals with existing sportsbook partners, such as DraftKings, to cover their prediction-market products, AP reported.

Why the CFTC pact matters

The memorandum covers cooperation and information sharing on NBA prediction markets, according to Kalshi. The league said it reflects a shared commitment to “appropriate regulatory oversight and integrity protections”, AP reported.

That leans the NBA towards a national rulebook. Kalshi quoted commissioner Adam Silver saying the league has “roughly 40 different jurisdictions regulating us right now”.

The states see it differently. More than a dozen are in litigation over prediction markets, AP says, including Utah’s lawsuit against Kalshi. Earlier this month the NFL filed a brief backing New Jersey in its Supreme Court bid against Kalshi.

The CFTC argues it has exclusive jurisdiction, while some states say the markets fall under their gambling laws.

Where crypto comes in

Prediction markets are reaching crypto users through wallets. Phantom’s Kalshi rollout last week put event contracts inside a self-custody wallet, and Polymarket grew up on blockchain rails.

An official league seal makes those front ends more visible. It does not change any state’s position.

What to watch

Which NBA market types the league approves, and which it rejects.
Whether other leagues follow with their own CFTC agreements.
The Supreme Court’s decision on whether to take up New Jersey’s case.
Rule-making at the CFTC, including its proposal on event contracts.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.