NBA Names Kalshi, Polymarket Preferred Markets; Signs CFTC Deal

The National Basketball Association has named Kalshi and Polymarket its preferred prediction market exchanges and signed an information-sharing agreement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to protect basketball-related market integrity, reported on Monday.

Official Data Access and Marketing Rights Granted to Exchanges

Under the multi-year agreements, Kalshi and Polymarket gain access to official NBA data distributed by Sportradar, the league’s designated data partner, to settle authorized markets. Both platforms secured rights to use league intellectual property and execute promotional activities across the United States. Scott Kaufman-Ross, head of media distribution and partnerships at the NBA, stated in a release that protecting the game’s integrity remains the league’s top priority while working constructively with regulators and operators to establish adequate safeguards. The league did not disclose the financial terms of the multi-year agreements with Kalshi and Polymarket, according to Associated Press. Kaufman-Ross told the AP that the NBA can approve what types of markets are listed for its games.

Integrity Safeguards and Restrictions on League Personnel

The partnerships introduce strict compliance protocols prohibiting NBA staff and team personnel from trading contracts on league events. The platforms must also cooperate fully in investigations concerning suspicious trading activity. In a separate announcement, CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig noted that the memorandum of understanding strengthens information sharing to combat insider trading and fraud in prediction markets. The NBA joins Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League in establishing similar regulatory frameworks with the federal agency. Platforms and the CFTC maintain that the contracts are swaps and therefore subject to federal oversight, while states contend that the contracts amount to sports betting that they should supervise, according to CNBC.

NBA Partners With Kalshi and Polymarket: What the Integrity Agreements Do

DraftKings Expansion and Legal Disputes Over State Oversight

Alongside the new exchange partnerships, the NBA expanded its existing agreement with DraftKings to cover prediction markets and nationwide promotion, while planning further operator deals in coming weeks. These commercial announcements coincide with an ongoing legal battle over federal commodity regulations versus state gambling laws. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in a case involving Ohio and Tennessee, following a Ninth Circuit decision, though a Third Circuit ruling allowed Kalshi to continue operating in New Jersey during appeal.

Utah Sues Kalshi as Supreme Court Reviews New Jersey Dispute

State-level enforcement has continued independently of federal developments. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown filed a lawsuit against Kalshi on October 20, alleging the platform facilitated illegal gambling within the state since 2024 and seeking between $30 million and $60 million in estimated profits. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court received a petition to review the New Jersey dispute, backed by 39 states, Washington D.C., and the National Football League, which argued that certain sports-linked event contracts threaten match integrity. Earlier this month, the NFL argued in an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court that states, rather than the CFTC, should supervise sports-linked event contracts, according to CNBC. NBA Adam Silver stated in October that a coherent national policy would better serve the league’s interests across roughly 40 different jurisdictions. The Supreme Court justices have not yet agreed to hear the case.