The National Basketball Association has named Kalshi and Polymarket as its preferred prediction market exchanges while entering a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission focused on cooperation and information sharing related to league-linked event contracts.

The moves form part of a broader integrity framework intended to limit the types of NBA-related markets that can be offered, bar league and team personnel from trading those contracts, and create obligations for the platforms to share information on investigations and suspicious activity.

Commercial Partnerships and Data Access

Under the multiyear agreements, Kalshi and Polymarket receive rights to use NBA intellectual property, marketing privileges and promotional opportunities across U.S. media channels. Both platforms will also obtain official league data supplied by Sportradar, the NBA’s designated data distribution partner, to operate and settle authorized markets.

The league said the arrangements place the exchanges inside a defined structure rather than leaving settlement and branding entirely independent. Officials noted that the partnerships include affirmative prohibitions on trading by NBA and team personnel along with requirements to cooperate on probes into irregular trading patterns.

In addition to the preferred-exchange designations, the NBA expanded an existing agreement with DraftKings to cover prediction markets and indicated it expects to announce further arrangements with other operators in the coming weeks.

CFTC Memorandum of Understanding

Separately, the NBA and the CFTC signed an MOU centered on information sharing about prediction markets tied to professional basketball. The agreement aims to support appropriate regulatory oversight and protections against abuses such as insider trading and fraud.

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the NBA joins Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League in taking a responsible step toward protecting sports integrity and market participants. The regulator described the arrangement as continuing its commitment to increased data sharing with professional sports leagues.

Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA’s head of media distribution and partnerships, stated that as the category develops it is important to work constructively with regulators and operators to help ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Ongoing Regulatory and Legal Context

The announcements arrive amid continued disputes over whether federal commodities rules take precedence over state gambling laws for sports event contracts. Conflicting appellate rulings have left operators facing a patchwork of availability across jurisdictions.

In September the Sixth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in matters involving Ohio and Tennessee, following a similar outcome from the Ninth Circuit. An earlier Third Circuit decision allowed continued operations in New Jersey pending appeal. On October 20 Utah’s attorney general sued Kalshi, alleging illegal betting activity since 2024 and seeking recovery of an estimated $30 million to $60 million in profits.

A petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a related New Jersey dispute has drawn support from 39 states, the District of Columbia and the National Football League. The justices have not yet agreed to hear the case. The NFL has not entered commercial partnerships of the kind announced by the NBA and has raised concerns about potential threats to game integrity.

The NBA’s framework seeks to address settlement accuracy, conflicts of interest and investigative cooperation while the larger jurisdictional questions remain before the courts.