(PRESS RELEASE) -- The National Basketball Association today announced a set of agreements designed to establish a comprehensive framework for NBA-related prediction markets, including a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the designation of
Kalshi and Polymarket as the league’s Preferred Prediction Market Exchanges.
The agreements with Kalshi and Polymarket put in place significant integrity protections for NBA-related markets, including limitations on permissible markets, affirmative prohibitions on trading NBA event contracts by league and team personnel, and information-sharing obligations relating to investigations and suspicious trading.
“Protecting the integrity of the game is our top priority,” said Scott Kaufman-Ross, NBA Head of Media Distribution & Partnerships. “As this category develops, we believe it is important to work constructively with regulators and operators to help ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These partnerships represent an important step in establishing a framework that creates new opportunities to engage our fans.”
“Announcing our partnership with the NBA is a significant milestone,” said Adam Barrick, Head of Sports Partnerships at Kalshi. “The relationship we’ve built together reflects a shared mindset that prioritizes fan engagement, innovation and safety. We believe in markets that are fair, safe, and open – it’s why millions of people are coming to Kalshi to trade with nationwide consumer protections. It’s an exciting time for both NBA fans and Kalshi users.”
“The NBA is one of the most influential sports leagues in the world, and we’re excited to work together to bring fans closer to the game,” said Ari Borod, President, Sports Business Development at Polymarket. “This partnership will allow our customers to engage more deeply with the game of basketball on Polymarket. We look forward to partnering with the NBA on establishing a safe, transparent prediction market ecosystem for everyone.”
Memorandum of Understanding with the CFTCThe NBA and the CFTC have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focused on cooperation and information sharing related to NBA prediction markets. The agreement reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that NBA-related prediction markets are subject to appropriate regulatory oversight and integrity protections.
Preferred Prediction Market ExchangesAs Preferred Prediction Market Exchanges, alongside the integrity collaboration, each platform will receive rights to use NBA IP, marketing rights and promotional activations across media channels within the United States. They will also receive official NBA data from Sportradar, the NBA’s Official Data Distribution Partner, to operate and settle authorized NBA-related markets.
Authorized Prediction Market OperatorsIn addition to its preferred partnerships with Kalshi and Polymarket, the NBA has expanded its agreement with DraftKings to include prediction markets and nationwide promotion. The NBA plans to expand its relationship with other current official sports betting partners, and others in the industry, in the coming weeks. All Authorized Prediction Market Operator partnerships will include enhanced integrity obligations specific to prediction markets and market restrictions aligned with the NBA’s latest sports betting restrictions.