The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced an official agreement with Kalshi and Polymarket as the league’s two preferred prediction market exchanges on October 26, 2026. The partnership grants both platforms the right to use NBA intellectual property and run promotions across US media channels. Alongside the announcement, DraftKings also expanded its relationship with the NBA to include prediction markets and nationwide promotions.
Adam Barrick of Kalshi called the agreement a major milestone for his company, while Ari Borod of Polymarket reaffirmed his platform’s commitment to transparency. However, this commercial deal comes with tight regulatory boundaries - the league immediately bound both platforms to competition integrity protocols.
Contract Settlement Through Sportradar
Kalshi and Polymarket will receive official basketball data feeds via Sportradar, the NBA’s official data distribution partner, to operate and settle official markets. This official data will serve as the primary benchmark for the exchanges to determine the final outcomes of game contracts on their respective platforms.
The agreement also imposes several compliance requirements on both exchanges. Platforms are required to restrict the types of markets allowed to operate and prohibit all league personnel and team members from trading NBA game contracts. In addition to insider trading bans, Kalshi and Polymarket must share information with the league regarding investigations and suspicious trading activity.
Joint Oversight With the CFTC
The NBA expanded its competition oversight into market regulation by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The cooperation agreement for sharing match integrity information was signed directly by CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
At the regulatory level, the CFTC maintains that prediction market contracts fall under federal financial market jurisdiction. The federal regulator’s stance clashes with arguments from state governments, which contend that sports contracts are subject to local gambling laws.
On October 20, 2026, the state of Utah filed a civil lawsuit against Kalshi in court. The Utah lawsuit seeks the recovery of allegedly illegal fees worth $30.6 million to $61.2 million from accounts affiliated with the state.
For market participants trading match contracts, the NBA partnership brings official data and coordinated oversight, but has yet to resolve regulatory uncertainty at the local level. The future of sports prediction markets in the United States now hinges on resolving federal jurisdictional boundaries and the outcome of state court lawsuits.
Reported by crypto.news.
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