NBA Selects Kalshi and Polymarket, Signs CFTC Compliance Deal

The National Basketball Association has moved to formalize its role in the fast-growing prediction market industry by naming Kalshi and Polymarket as preferred exchanges for basketball-related contracts. The league also signed an information-sharing agreement with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), signaling a more structured approach to integrity and oversight for sports markets.

NBA officials say the arrangement will help ensure that only authorized products tied to NBA events are settled using official league data, while adding controls designed to reduce the risk of insider trading, fraud, and manipulation.

Key takeaways

• The NBA designated Kalshi and Polymarket as preferred prediction market exchanges for basketball-related event contracts.
• The league’s CFTC information-sharing agreement is intended to strengthen enforcement against insider trading and fraud in prediction markets.
• Sportradar—already the NBA’s designated data distribution partner—will supply official NBA data used to settle authorized markets on those platforms.
• The NBA included integrity safeguards, including restrictions aimed at preventing NBA and team personnel from trading NBA event contracts.
• NBA commercial expansion is ongoing: the league expanded its DraftKings agreement to cover prediction markets and indicated additional partnerships may follow.

NBA designates preferred exchanges and builds an integrity framework

In an announcement published on Monday, the NBA outlined commercial and regulatory steps intended to protect the credibility of basketball-related prediction markets. Under the league’s new framework, Kalshi and Polymarket will receive access to official NBA data provided by Sportradar for settling contracts that the NBA authorizes.

The NBA also said the exchanges will be granted rights related to the use of NBA intellectual property and permission to conduct promotional activity in the United States. In other words, the league is positioning these platforms as partners inside a defined sandbox rather than leaving settlement and branding entirely to independent market operators.

Crucially for market integrity, the NBA’s agreements include restrictions on who can participate in trading. The league said NBA and team personnel are prohibited from trading NBA event contracts, and it requires cooperation on investigations involving suspicious trading activity.

CFTC agreement targets fraud and insider trading concerns

Alongside the NBA’s commercial partnerships, the CFTC announced a separate information-sharing agreement with the league. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the deal would strengthen the regulator’s ability to share information and address insider trading and fraud risks associated with prediction markets.

The NBA is joining similar information-sharing arrangements already established with other major US sports leagues, according to the CFTC. Those relationships underscore a broader regulatory pattern: as sports prediction products expand, regulators appear to be seeking faster, more reliable access to league-level data and investigations.

For investors and traders, these steps matter because prediction markets depend on trust—trust in settlement, in the integrity of participants, and in the ability to investigate misconduct. While the partnerships do not eliminate legal and regulatory uncertainty, they aim to reduce preventable sources of dispute, especially those tied to event accuracy and conflicts of interest.

Expansion beyond two exchanges: DraftKings and potential future operators

The NBA did not limit its prediction market plans to Kalshi and Polymarket. The league said it expanded an existing agreement with DraftKings to include prediction markets. It also indicated that it expects to announce additional arrangements with other industry operators in the coming weeks.

That move signals that the NBA is building a broader distribution strategy for basketball-related contracts—one that is more integrated with league data and brand controls than what many prediction market products have traditionally offered.

Prediction markets face uneven legal footing across the US

Even as the NBA aligns itself with major exchanges and the CFTC, prediction markets remain at the center of an ongoing dispute over whether federal commodities rules override state gambling laws.

The conflict has produced inconsistent outcomes across federal appeals courts. The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Kalshi in September in a case connected to state oversight from Ohio and Tennessee. That decision followed a similar outcome from the 9th Circuit. Meanwhile, a prior ruling by the 3rd Circuit allowed Kalshi to keep operating in New Jersey while its appeal proceeds.

These divergent rulings have tangible implications for the industry: operators may be able to function in some states while facing enforcement actions in others, leading to patchwork product availability and compliance costs.

State enforcement efforts have continued. On Oct. 20, Utah Attorney General Derek Brown sued Kalshi, alleging that the platform facilitated illegal betting in the state since 2024. Utah officials are seeking to recover an estimated $30 million to $60 million in profits they allege were earned by Kalshi and other defendants.

At the same time, the US Supreme Court has been asked to review a New Jersey dispute. The petition is supported by 39 states and Washington, DC. The NFL has also backed the request, arguing that certain sports event contracts could threaten game integrity because they are susceptible to manipulation. As of now, the Supreme Court has not agreed to hear the case.

What the NBA’s approach may change next

The NBA’s new partnerships and CFTC information-sharing agreement offer a practical path for sports prediction products: official data access for settlement, restrictions on insider participation, and cooperation mechanisms for investigations. But the bigger legal question—whether federal regulation displaces state gambling laws—remains unresolved in the courts.

Readers should watch how the NBA’s integrity framework is enforced in practice and whether forthcoming commercial partnerships expand beyond currently designated exchanges, especially as the Supreme Court case and ongoing state actions continue to shape what prediction market activity looks like across the country.