NBA strikes CFTC memorandum, taps Kalshi and Polymarket as exchanges
The league has agreed an information-sharing arrangement with the derivatives regulator and designated two prediction market platforms as official partners, alongside an expanded DraftKings tie-up.
The National Basketball Association has entered a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and designated Kalshi and Polymarket as its "Preferred Prediction Market Exchanges", according to a release issued on Monday and reported by iGaming Business.
The move comes a week into the league's 82nd season and follows close league scrutiny of integrity risks tied to contracts based on NBA outcomes.
Under the arrangement, Kalshi and Polymarket commit to restrictions on which markets can be listed, a ban on league and team personnel trading NBA-linked contracts, and obligations to share information on investigations and suspicious trading patterns, the NBA said.
In exchange, the two platforms gain access to NBA intellectual property, US marketing rights and official data feeds supplied by the league's data partner, Sportradar.
The NBA also confirmed it is broadening its existing relationship with DraftKings to cover prediction markets and nationwide promotional activity, with further expansions to its other sportsbook partners expected within weeks. Those forthcoming deals will carry integrity terms aligned with betting restrictions the league had already imposed on its wagering partners ahead of this season.
Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA's head of media distribution and partnerships, said safeguarding league integrity remained the organisation's top priority, and described the new arrangements as part of building a framework that opens fresh ways to connect with fans.
A crowded field of league deals
The NBA joins a growing list of US sports properties linking up with prediction market operators over the past year. Polymarket already has agreements with Major League Baseball, the UFC and Major League Soccer, while it shares NHL partnerships with Kalshi. Monday's announcement arrived on what the industry has dubbed a "sports equinox", with the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL all in action on the same date.
Individual stars had moved first. Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo signed with Kalshi in February, while LeBron James appeared in a Polymarket advertising campaign in September despite a prior partnership with DraftKings. James, now with the Philadelphia 76ers for his 24th season, holds the league record for seasons played.
Kalshi's head of sports partnerships, Adam Barrick, called the NBA tie-up a significant milestone and said the company was focused on keeping markets fair, safe and open. Polymarket's president of sports business development, Ari Borod, said his firm would work with the league to build a safe and transparent market ecosystem for all participants. Both executives previously worked in traditional sports betting — Barrick at DraftKings, Borod across FanDuel, Action Network and Fanatics.
What the MOU actually commits to
The underlying MOU, five pages long, is focused on cooperation and information exchange rather than binding obligations. It explicitly states that neither party must create, retain or hand over data to the other, with any disclosure left to each side's own discretion. Cooperation, the document notes, is expected to happen mainly through informal consultations and periodic meetings rather than formal procedure.
CFTC General Counsel Tyler Badgley and NBA Executive Vice President Dan Spillane are named as the designated contacts. CFTC Chair Michael Selig described the agreement as a responsible step toward protecting sports integrity and shielding market participants from abuses such as insider trading and fraud.
Commissioner Adam Silver was not quoted in Monday's statements. Silver has long supported legalised sports betting, campaigning for it as far back as 2014, though he has more recently criticised the fragmented state-by-state regulatory system for complicating information-sharing and investigations.
The league has faced its own integrity controversies in recent years. Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban in 2024 over gambling-related conduct, and players including Terry Rozier and Malik Beasley remain entangled in ongoing legal proceedings.