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Shweta Surendran
Multiple authors
The NBA on Thursday asked the nation’s top product regulator to impose stricter restrictions on players, game officials and team personnel to ensure that prediction markets do not undermine the integrity of the sport and the trust of fans.
Dan Spillane, the NBA’s executive vice president and assistant general counsel, wrote in a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that the integrity concerns raised by the prediction market are similar to those involved in sports betting.
The letter comes as the CFTC considers whether to revise its regulations on prediction markets. The NBA’s call for stricter regulation comes in contrast to other sports leagues, such as MLB, NHL and UFC, signing partnership deals with prediction markets.
“There is no higher priority for the NBA than protecting the integrity of our game and protecting the public’s trust in our league and our sport,” Spillane wrote, adding that the league does not take a position on the ongoing battle between states and the CFTC over the right to control the prediction market.
But the industry needs “robust and comprehensive regulation,” he wrote, citing the risks inherent in contracting athletes and others who participate in sports.
Spillane identified specific markets that, he said, could be prone to manipulation, such as those related to officiating, injuries and fan action. He called for a strict ban on contracting businesses by anyone under the age of 21.
The league’s submission was made in response to a call for public comment as part of the CFTC’s rulemaking process on prediction markets. The comment period began on March 13 and ended on Thursday. The agency said it received about 1,500 comments.
Prediction markets, such as Kalshi and Polymarket, allow users — 18 and older — to trade on the yes/no outcome of events, including sports.
The letter calls for increased cooperation between prediction markets and leagues regarding questionable trading, data sharing and league investigations.
