The NBA has signed agreements naming Kalshi and Polymarket its Preferred Prediction Market Exchanges, along with a memorandum of understanding with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to Yogonet, which reported the deals on 26–27 October 2026.
The report gives no signing date. We have found no second independent source, so everything below rests on that single source.
Per Yogonet, the MOU is meant to facilitate cooperation and information sharing between the league and the CFTC on NBA-related prediction markets.
Both platforms face restrictions on which markets they may offer, Yogonet reports. The agreements bar league and team personnel from trading NBA event contracts, per the report. The exchanges also take on obligations to share information for investigations and in cases of suspicious trading, according to Yogonet.
In return, according to the outlet, Kalshi and Polymarket receive NBA intellectual property rights, marketing rights and promotional opportunities across US media channels. They will also get official NBA data from Sportradar to operate and settle authorised markets.
The league has also expanded its agreement with DraftKings to cover prediction markets and nationwide promotion, Yogonet reports, and it plans to extend relationships to other sports betting partners and operators in the coming weeks.
Yogonet quotes Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA's Head of Media Distribution & Partnerships, as saying that protecting the integrity of the game is the league's top priority. He added that working constructively with regulators and operators is important.
The report does not explain why the league chose these two exchanges beyond the companies' own statements.
Yogonet places the agreements against a dispute between states and the federal regulator over who has authority over prediction markets. In September, according to Yogonet, New Jersey officials petitioned the Supreme Court over whether states can regulate prediction markets, and 39 states and the District of Columbia backed the petition. According to the report, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig maintains that this power belongs exclusively to the CFTC. Earlier in October, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called for a uniform national approach on CNBC's Squawk Box, the outlet reports, while the NFL urged the Supreme Court to hear New Jersey's case.
Two points remain open. Neither the list of permitted markets nor the text of the MOU is available to us, so it is unclear how far the restrictions reach or what information the CFTC will actually receive. A published copy of the MOU from the league or the commission, or a list of authorised NBA contracts from either exchange, would answer both questions.
Prepared with AI from independent sources and published automatically, without prior editorial review. How we use AI