CFTC, NHL Sign MOU to Advance Prediction Market Regulation

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), under the sole leadership of Republican Michael Selig, announced a memorandum of understanding with the National Hockey League to protect the integrity of professional hockey and maintain fair and transparent prediction markets. The agreement is designed to enable information-sharing and coordinated action to deter insider trading, fraud, and other abuse on event contracts tied to hockey outcomes, while reinforcing the CFTC’s claim of exclusive jurisdiction over platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.

In a Thursday statement, Selig said the move aims to shield prediction-market users from illicit activity as the CFTC continues to exercise its regulatory remit. The arrangement follows a pattern seen with Major League Baseball, which announced a similar pact in March and designated Polymarket as its Official Prediction Market Exchange. According to Cointelegraph, the NHL accord mirrors that MLB framework, signaling a broader alignment between leagues and federal regulators on market integrity standards.

Regulators note that the NHL agreement would allow the CFTC and the league to share information and coordinate to safeguard the integrity of both professional hockey and related event contracts on prediction-market platforms. With the 2026-27 NHL season slated to begin in September, Kalshi and Polymarket already listed event contracts tied to the Stanley Cup playoffs, which began in April.

Key takeaways

• The CFTC and the National Hockey League formalize information-sharing and joint oversight to protect hockey-related prediction-market contracts from manipulation and abuse.
• The pact reinforces the CFTC’s assertion of exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets and follows prior enforcement actions against state authorities over such platforms.
• Live event contracts for major postseason hockey are present on Kalshi and Polymarket, indicating market readiness ahead of the upcoming season.
• Polymarket has filed to list combinatorial outcome contracts, signaling product expansion within the regulatory framework.

Regulatory coordination between the CFTC and the NHL

Under the memorandum of understanding, the CFTC and the NHL will share information and coordinate actions to protect market integrity around professional-hockey–related event contracts. This collaboration underscores the CFTC’s position that prediction markets fall within its exclusive regulatory remit, a stance the agency has enforced through actions against state authorities pursuing similar market structures in recent years. The objective is to deter insider trading, fraud, and other abuses that could erode user trust and undermine market reliability.

These arrangements illustrate how federal regulators are seeking to align sports leagues with robust compliance and monitoring frameworks for prediction markets. By integrating league operations with federal oversight, the ecosystem aims to reduce cross-market abuses while preserving legitimate hedging and informational use cases for participants.

Leadership and governance at the CFTC

The CFTC’s leadership situation remains a focal point for industry observers. Michael Selig serves as the agency’s chair and sole commissioner, with the expectation that the commission will eventually comprise five members. However, the panel has operated without a full slate since December. Lawmakers have pressed for nominations to fill the remaining seats, and while several oversight efforts have been advanced, President Donald Trump had not publicly announced any nominations as of Thursday. House committee leaders have urged action, citing the CLARITY Act as a framework to clarify agency governance and authorities in relation to prediction markets.

Product development and market structure

Polymarket filed a product self-certification letter with the CFTC Secretary Christopher Kirkpatrick, signaling its intention to list combinatorial outcome contracts. This step would permit the platform to bundle two or more underlying event contracts into a single instrument, expanding the design space for prediction-market participants while remaining subject to regulatory review. The filing underscores how product innovation within prediction markets continues to evolve under the supervision of the CFTC, balancing new capabilities with the need for transparent disclosure and enforceable standards.

From a practical perspective, the move matters for exchanges, liquidity providers, and corporate compliance teams that rely on clear governance around sports-linked prediction markets. As enforcement and licensing considerations shape product offerings, institutions will monitor how cross-state oversight, consumer protections, and platform registration requirements develop in tandem with market innovation.

Observers note these regulatory dialogues illustrate a broader trend toward formalized collaboration between sports leagues and federal regulators to manage risk, protect investors, and sustain market integrity in prediction markets. The evolving framework will influence how platforms structure products, how leagues engage with licensed venues, and how compliance teams assess exposure across multi-jurisdictional operations.

The closing dynamics to watch include how remaining CFTC seats are filled, how states respond to ongoing enforcement narratives, and how Polymarket’s combinatorial-contract plans proceed under ongoing scrutiny. Together, these elements will shape the regulatory landscape governing US prediction markets and their interface with professional sports ecosystems.