NBA picks Kalshi and Polymarket as its prediction market partners
Both exchanges get the league's brand and official Sportradar data; league and team staff may not trade, and the DraftKings deal now covers prediction markets.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has picked Kalshi and Polymarket as its preferred prediction market exchanges, giving them use of its brand and official data. CDC Gaming reported the news after the league announced a set of agreements on Monday. Prediction markets are exchanges where users trade event contracts, which pay out depending on whether a stated event happens.
The league also signed a memorandum of understanding with the US derivatives regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The details
- Rights: each exchange gets use of NBA intellectual property, marketing rights and promotional activations across media channels in the United States.
- Data: both will receive official NBA data from Sportradar to run and settle authorised NBA-related markets. Sportradar called itself the league’s exclusive data provider.
- Integrity: the agreements limit which markets are permitted, bar league and team personnel from trading event contracts, and provide for sharing information on investigations and suspicious trading.
- DraftKings: the league expanded its agreement with the sportsbook to cover prediction markets and nationwide promotion. It plans to widen ties with other official betting partners in the coming weeks.
Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA’s head of media distribution and partnerships, told another outlet that the league’s contracts with the two exchanges address the possibility that sports event contracts stop being available. He said the NBA will not weigh in on the potential Supreme Court case.
The big picture
The CFTC has proposed defining sports and politics event contracts as swaps.
The report says the NHL and Major League Baseball already have partnerships with both exchanges. The NFL remains opposed and argues in an amicus brief that sports event contracts are gambling. New Jersey’s attorney general has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a Third Circuit ruling that barred the state from enforcing its gambling laws.
The report does not give the financial terms of any of the agreements.
Source
Report by CDC GamingNBA
Drafted with AI assistance from a report by CDC Gaming and reviewed by our editors before publication. How we work