The big picture: The NBA is the third major U.S. sports league, following Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, to sign commercial partnerships with Kalshi and Polymarket, calling them its “Preferred Prediction Market Exchanges.” MLS also has an exclusive partnership with Polymarket through its commercial arm Soccer United Marketing.
The NBA said the multiyear contracts would help create a data-sharing framework to stamp out insider betting and other forms of corruption that have rocked the league on several occasions. These incidents led to suspensions and federal charges against several prominent players and coaches, including Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, Jontay Porter and others.
The agreements require both prediction market operators to share data with the league and investigative authorities to identify suspicious betting patterns. The NBA believes the deals will help it better comply with state and federal regulations while putting in place “appropriate safeguards” to protect the integrity of the game without jeopardizing the multi-billion-dollar sports betting industry.
As part of the agreement, the NBA signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to create a “robust regulatory and integrity framework.” The MoU was necessary because prediction markets are legally treated differently than traditional sports betting sites and are regulated by the federal government rather than state gaming authorities.
The agreements give Kalshi and Polymarket access to official NBA data feeds through Sportradar, the league’s official data distribution partner. Companies are also permitted to use official NBA logos, branding and promotional materials across multiple media channels. In addition, both have the opportunity to advertise during live NBA broadcasts on traditional and digital media platforms.
As part of its efforts to keep basketball free of corruption, the NBA will be able to restrict or prohibit high-risk markets and betting that may be vulnerable to insider manipulation. For example, the league’s existing ban on under-prop betting with players expected to play less than 12 minutes per game also applies to prediction markets.
The agreement also prohibits NBA employees, team managers, players and coaching staff from betting on NBA games or related events. If illegal betting activities are suspected, Kalshi and Polymarket must share relevant data and trading patterns with the NBA and investigative authorities.
In addition to its new partnerships with Kalshi and Polymarket, the NBA has expanded its agreement with DraftKings to include prediction markets. The league also reached an agreement with FanDuel, a sports betting and fantasy sports company, to limit the types of bets that can be placed on NBA games.
The NBA plans to expand its existing relationships with other sports betting companies in the coming weeks.
