NBA signs a prediction-market integrity pact with the CFTC and picks Kalshi and Polymarket, while the NFL sides with the states

Summary

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Basketball Association signed a memorandum of understanding to protect the integrity of professional basketball in prediction markets, the CFTC announced on Monday, Oct. 26.

Under the agreement the two will regularly share information and discuss integrity issues, and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the NBA joins MLB and the NHL in signing such a pact.

CoinDesk reported that the NBA also named Kalshi and Polymarket as its preferred exchanges, while the NFL has rejected a similar arrangement and sided with states arguing their gambling laws should govern such betting.

Kalshi said the deal includes limits on which markets are allowed and bars league and team personnel from trading NBA event contracts, per CoinDesk.

Updates

• Update, Mon, 26 Oct 2026 19:30:00 UTC: Update: The Block and Cointelegraph also reported the deal; The Block called the NBA the third league to sign a CFTC prediction-market pact, and Cointelegraph said it names Kalshi and Polymarket as preferred exchanges with official data agreements and insider-trading safeguards.
• Update, Mon, 26 Oct 2026 22:20:00 UTC: Update: Decrypt also reported the agreement, noting it follows similar deals with MLB and NHL and sets up information-sharing to guard against insider trading.

Key facts

• The CFTC and NBA will share information by regularly communicating about integrity and maintaining fair and transparent prediction markets. (CFTC)
• Selig called the deal 'a responsible step toward protecting sports integrity and market participants from abuses in prediction markets like insider trading and fraud.' (CFTC)
• The NBA partnered with Kalshi and Polymarket as 'preferred exchanges.' (CoinDesk)
• The NFL told the U.S. Supreme Court that CFTC oversight has been lax and understaffed and sided with the states. (CoinDesk)
• Three major federal court decisions have split on whether states or the CFTC govern sports event contracts, two of them favoring the states. (CoinDesk)