NBA Betting: League Expands Prediction Market Ties
The league signed new agreements with Kalshi and Polymarket while facing ongoing legal probes into player gambling conduct.
By Benjamin Rousseau ·
The National Basketball Association signed two new prediction market partners on Monday while its own players faced legal scrutiny for gambling misconduct.
The league’s recent history with gambling ventures is complicated. In 2021, NBA Top Shot NFTs peaked at $226,350,843 in sales. By last month, that figure had fallen to $762,781, a drop of 99.66 percent. The league also named FTX Arena after the collapsed exchange. In 2024, Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy over a manipulation scheme. Currently, Malik Beasley is negotiating a plea deal on similar charges, and former player Terry Rozier and coach Chauncey Billups face indictments for rigging prop bets and poker games.
Despite these issues, the NBA announced preferred partnership deals with Kalshi and Polymarket. It also expanded its existing agreement with DraftKings to include prediction markets. The league signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to manage these relationships. Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA’s head of media distribution and partnerships, stated that protecting the integrity of the game is the top priority.
The new framework allows prediction markets to use official league data and intellectual property. It sets limits on permissible markets and requires information sharing regarding suspicious trades and investigations. The NBA said more expansions with other partners will be announced soon.
State regulators are already active in this space. New York attorney general Letitia James is suing Kalshi and other firms. Senators are investigating reports that DraftKings and similar companies use AI to target gamblers likely to lose while restricting bets from winners. Prediction markets have also seen insider trading activity related to unrelated topics, such as US military activity in Venezuela and teleprompter usage during presidential addresses.
The league’s move places these digital platforms alongside traditional sportsbooks. The agreements create a formal channel for data sharing. The CFTC memorandum provides a regulatory backdrop for the new commercial ties. The NBA continues to operate its betting portfolio while its integrity framework is tested by current court cases.
Source: The Verge
