NBA Names Kalshi and Polymarket Preferred Exchanges, Signs CFTC MOU

The National Basketball Association (NBA) named Kalshi and Polymarket its preferred prediction market exchanges and signed an information-sharing pact with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), pairing commercial access with restrictions on NBA event trading.

The NBA made the announcements Monday, Oct. 26. Prediction market contracts let users take positions on the outcomes of future events. Both exchanges gain rights to NBA intellectual property and can market and promote their agreements in the United States. Sportradar will distribute official NBA data for authorized NBA-related markets and their settlement.

The league’s terms clarify an earlier account of the partnership: the NBA’s description gives both exchanges data and intellectual-property access, rather than Kalshi alone. The agreements restrict which NBA-related markets the platforms may offer and prohibit NBA and team personnel from trading NBA event contracts. They also require information sharing about investigations and suspicious trading.

“Protecting the integrity of the game is our top priority,” said Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA’s head of media distribution and partnerships.

The NBA and CFTC signed a separate memorandum of understanding covering cooperation and information sharing. The CFTC said the parties will communicate regularly about market integrity and fair, transparent prediction markets. It described the NBA as joining similar agreements with Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.

DraftKings’ existing NBA agreement now covers prediction markets and promotion across the United States. The league said it plans to broaden its relationships with other partners in the coming weeks.

The deals arrive as courts consider how federal commodities law applies to sports event contracts. A New Jersey petition asks the U.S. Supreme Court whether that law preempts states from regulating sports bets offered on CFTC-registered markets. The docket lists Kalshi’s response deadline as Nov. 9.