Integrity Details Announced as NBA, Kalshi and Polymarket Agree to Deals

The NBA announced Monday it reached deals with prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.

In tandem with that, the league and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding focused on maintaining the integrity of the sport.

"I'm pleased the CFTC and NBA signed an MOU which continues the Commission's commitment to increasing data sharing between the agency and professional sports leagues," CFTC chairman Michael S. Selig said.

"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. I thank NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for putting the integrity of professional basketball and America's financial markets first and for working with the CFTC on this MOU."

Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA's head of media distribution and partnerships, believes striking formal deals with Kalshi and Polymarket will allow the league to better monitor the markets for any irregularities.

"Clearly, our fans have interest in this activity," he said, per Reynolds. "So, we're in a better position to protect the integrity of our games in a regulated market where there's transparency, where things can be monitored and we have insight into what's happening."

Per Reynolds, the agreements offer the NBA transparency into suspicious trading by users of the sites and ban team and league employees from making NBA-related trades on the exchanges. The league will also have the right to limit the types of markets Polymarket and Kalshi can offer on its games.

In April 2024, the NBA banned Jontay Porter for violating the league's gambling rules. The investigation originated from the fact sportsbooks flagged suspicious patterns on prop bets about Porter, who at the time was a reserve forward for the Toronto Raptors.

Earlier this month, the NBA told its official sportsbook partners to restrict specified prop bets for the 2026-27 season.

In general, Silver told CNBC the league wants as much transparency and control as it can to maintain the integrity of the action on the court.

"For us, whether it's called a prediction market, whether it's sports betting, it's the same issues for our league, and I think for all the leagues," he said. "There's issues around integrity first and foremost."