The NBA has struck a deal with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to help police prediction markets, becoming the latest major sports league to formalize an integrity partnership as betting on games moves onto federally regulated platforms.
The CFTC signed a memorandum of understanding with the basketball league on Monday to protect the integrity of professional basketball in prediction markets. Under the agreement, the two will share information and communicate regularly on integrity matters while working to keep the markets fair and transparent.
"The NBA joins the MLB and NHL in taking a responsible step toward protecting sports integrity and market participants from abuses in prediction markets like insider trading and fraud," CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said in a statement.
Growing Shift to Regulated Platforms
The pact reflects how rapidly sports-outcome betting has migrated to CFTC-regulated venues like Kalshi and Polymarket, which let users trade event contracts on real-world outcomes, including game winners. That shift has raised integrity concerns familiar to the gambling world, chiefly the risk that insiders could trade on nonpublic information.
The league-regulator partnerships are designed to build a channel for flagging suspicious activity. The NHL became the first major league to license its trademarks to a prediction market, while MLB pursued an integrity agreement tied to a Polymarket deal.
NBA Context and Contrast
The NBA's cooperation is particularly significant given the league is still dealing with a high-profile betting scandal. An October 2025 FBI operation led to arrests in connection with alleged gambling schemes involving a Miami Heat guard and a coach, including allegations of game manipulation to influence bets. The case underscores exactly the kind of insider misconduct these partnerships aim to prevent.
In contrast, the NFL has resisted similar cooperation. The partnership comes amid a jurisdictional battle over whether prediction markets fall under federal or state authority, with the CFTC recently moving to define event contracts as "swaps" within its regulatory remit while excluding casino-style gambling. The NFL is currently battling Kalshi at the Supreme Court and has not signed on to an integrity agreement.
Market Growth Ahead
Analysts project prediction markets could generate billions in revenue by the end of the decade, with new entrants continuing to seek CFTC approval to offer event contracts.
