NBA Signs Kalshi and Polymarket Deals as Prediction Markets Gain Another Major League

The National Basketball Association is getting into the prediction market business, even as states try to push the industry out.

The league named Kalshi and Polymarket its Preferred Prediction Market Exchanges on Monday, giving both platforms access to NBA intellectual property, promotional opportunities and official data.

In return, the agreements restrict permissible markets, prohibit NBA personnel from trading league-related contracts, and require cooperation on suspicious activity.

The NBA also signed an information-sharing agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and expanded its existing DraftKings relationship to include prediction markets and nationwide promotion. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Protecting the integrity of the game is our top priority,” Scott Kaufman-Ross, NBA head of media distribution & partnerships, said in a release.  “As this category develops, we believe it is important to work constructively with regulators and operators to help ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.  These partnerships represent an important step in establishing a framework that creates new opportunities to engage our fans.”

The announcement is another major commercial win for an industry still fighting over whether state gambling regulators can restrict its sports contracts. A league partnership gives the exchanges branding and distribution opportunities.

Official data, logos and a route to more promotion

Kalshi and Polymarket already offered NBA markets. The agreements turn those existing products into official league relationships rather than introducing basketball trading for the first time.

Both exchanges will receive NBA intellectual property rights and marketing opportunities across U.S. media channels. They will also obtain official league data from Sportradar, the NBA’s official data distribution partner, to operate and settle authorized markets.

The platforms gain official branding and data, while the NBA gains contractual commitments governing how partners offer its markets and respond to integrity concerns.

The WNBA is not automatically included. Prediction market companies would need separate agreements for its rights and intellectual property, according to Front Office Sports.

DraftKings’ role is also distinct. Its expanded agreement covers prediction markets, but it does not receive the same preferred-exchange designation as Kalshi and Polymarket.

The NBA wants limits on what can trade

The commercial agreements come with restrictions designed to address markets the league considers vulnerable to manipulation.

Partners must follow rules aligned with the NBA’s recently announced sportsbook restrictions. Those include prohibitions on first-basket player props and parlays built around statistical unders for players expected to receive limited playing time, according to Front Office Sports.

Players, league personnel and team employees will be prohibited from trading NBA event contracts. They must also share information about suspicious trading and investigations.

The agreements give the league more influence over partners’ products than it had when those exchanges offered NBA contracts without an official relationship. They do not guarantee that manipulation or insider trading cannot occur.

A separate CFTC agreement broadens the framework

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the CFTC establishes cooperation and information sharing concerning NBA prediction markets. It is separate from the league’s commercial deals with individual operators.

The commercial agreements govern the NBA’s partners while the regulatory framework creates channels for sharing information and league input concerning exchanges more broadly, including those outside its partnership program.

The MOU is nonbinding. It is not a new federal rule, a gambling license or a court decision establishing that sports contracts are immune from state enforcement.

For the NBA, it adds a federal integrity-monitoring relationship while the scope of federal and state authority remains contested.

More operators and team deals could follow

Monday’s announcement is not necessarily the end of the NBA’s partnership rollout.

The league said it expects to expand relationships with existing sports betting partners and other companies in the coming weeks. Front Office Sports reported that Novig is expected to finalize an authorized prediction market agreement later this week. That deal was not part of Monday’s confirmed announcement.

The release did not name FanDuel, another official NBA sports betting partner.

Individual franchises could also strike their own deals. Front Office Sports reported that the Golden State Warriors and Kalshi could announce an agreement soon, while the Los Angeles Lakers have held discussions with multiple operators.

Commercial acceptance moves faster than legal certainty

The NBA follows other major leagues into the category. The National Hockey League partnered with Kalshi and Polymarket last October, Major League Soccer reached a Polymarket deal in January, and Major League Baseball named Polymarket its exclusive prediction market partner in March.

That leaves the National Football League as the only major U.S. professional league still holding out. The NFL has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to address a nationwide battle over jurisdiction in sports-event contracts.

Sports leagues are signing commercial agreements while state officials pursue litigation and enforcement over the same products.