US CFTC, NBA agree to cooperate over basketball and prediction markets

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on prediction markets, according to a Reuters report on Monday. This agreement aims to protect the integrity of professional basketball amid concerns about insider trading and inadequate market oversight.

The NBA has designated Kalshi and Polymarket as its preferred prediction market exchanges, which the league claims include robust integrity protections limiting permissible markets. "Protecting the integrity of the game is our top priority," stated Scott Kaufman-Ross, NBA head of media distribution & partnerships.

The agreement comes in the wake of recent sports betting scandals, including lifetime bans from the NBA and charges for illegal gambling. Kalshi and Polymarket claim they are trading platforms, not betting platforms. The NBA is the third of the major North American sports leagues to enter into a prediction market deal, following the NHL and MLB.

Interestingly, the NFL recently petitioned the US Supreme Court to review a dispute over state oversight of sports-related prediction market contracts. While the NBA prohibits players from endorsing betting operators, several players, including four-time MVP LeBron James, have endorsement deals with prediction platforms.

Kalshi recently partnered with the US Open tennis major, and the men’s ATP tour signed a similar agreement with Polymarket. The CFTC has asserted regulatory oversight of prediction markets, arguing they facilitate trading in financial instruments, a stance reiterated in the new agreement. Several states have challenged the CFTC's attempt to assert oversight, arguing that prediction markets facilitate gambling and thus should be subject to stringent state laws.