The big picture: Following Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, the NBA has become the third major US sports league to sign commercial partnerships with both Kalshi and Polymarket, designating them as its "Preferred Prediction Market Exchanges." The MLS also has an exclusive partnership with Polymarket through its commercial arm, Soccer United Marketing.
The NBA said the multi-year deals would help establish a data-sharing framework to root out insider betting and other forms of corruption that have rocked the league on multiple occasions. These incidents have resulted in suspensions and federal indictments involving several prominent players and coaches, including Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, Jontay Porter, and others.
The agreements require both prediction market operators to share data with the league and investigative agencies to help identify suspicious betting patterns. The NBA believes the deals will help it better comply with state and federal regulations while implementing "appropriate safeguards" to protect the integrity of the game without undermining the multi billion-dollar sports betting industry.
As part of the agreement, the NBA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to establish a "robust regulatory and integrity framework." The MoU was necessary because prediction markets are legally treated differently from traditional sports betting sites and are regulated by the federal government rather than state gambling authorities.
The deals will give Kalshi and Polymarket access to official NBA data feeds through Sportradar, the league's official data distribution partner. The companies will also be allowed to use official NBA logos, branding, and promotional materials across multiple media channels. Additionally, both will be able to advertise during live NBA broadcasts across traditional and digital media platforms.
As part of its efforts to keep basketball free from corruption, the NBA will be able to limit or prohibit high-risk markets and wagers that could be vulnerable to insider manipulation. For example, the league's existing ban on under-prop bets involving players expected to play fewer than 12 minutes per game will also apply to prediction markets.
The agreement also prohibits NBA employees, team executives, players, and coaching staff from betting on any NBA games or related events. If illegal betting activity is suspected, Kalshi and Polymarket must share relevant data and trading patterns with the NBA and investigative agencies.
In addition to its new partnerships with Kalshi and Polymarket, the NBA has expanded its agreement with DraftKings to include prediction markets. The league also has an agreement with FanDuel, a sportsbook and fantasy sports company, to restrict the types of bets that can be placed on NBA games.
The NBA plans to expand its existing relationships with other sports betting companies in the coming weeks.