NBA partners with Kalshi and Polymarket 

On Monday, October 26, 2026, the NBA officially announced agreements with Kalshi and Polymarket, two platforms specialising in prediction markets. This decision marks a new step in the growing relationship between American professional sports and a controversial industry whose legal regulation continues to spark debate. 

The NBA opens its doors to prediction markets 

America’s leading professional basketball league is taking a significant step by naming Kalshi and Polymarket as its preferred partners. These platforms allow users to trade contracts whose value depends on the outcome of specific events. Both platforms are on Belgium’s blacklist of illegal gambling websites. 

Unlike traditional sports betting operators, these companies operate under a different legal framework, despite similarities between some of their offerings and betting on sporting competitions. 

For the NBA, this collaboration represents a new opportunity to increase fan engagement. 

Kalshi and Polymarket face strict restrictions 

The agreements signed with Kalshi and Polymarket go beyond a commercial partnership. They include several mechanisms designed to prevent suspicious behaviour and potential manipulation. 

Both platforms will be required to share information about investigations and suspicious trading activity detected on their markets. 

The NBA will also impose restrictions on the categories of contracts that may be offered to users. Certain types of trading related to league events will therefore be subject to specific rules. 

Another important measure is that employees of the NBA and its affiliated teams will be prohibited from trading contracts linked to league events. 

These obligations aim to limit conflicts of interest and maintain confidence in sporting results. 

An agreement with the US regulator to strengthen oversight 

The NBA is not relying solely on its commercial partners to oversee these new activities. Alongside its agreements with Kalshi and Polymarket, the league has signed a cooperation agreement with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). 

This partnership includes information sharing and cooperation concerning prediction markets linked to basketball games. 

The objective is to ensure appropriate oversight and better protect competitions against irregularities. 

Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA’s executive responsible for media distribution and partnerships, emphasised that protecting sporting integrity remains the league’s top priority. 

According to him, these collaborations should create new opportunities for fan engagement while maintaining appropriate safeguards. 

Official data and commercial rights for the platforms 

The agreements also provide significant benefits to Kalshi and Polymarket. 

Both companies will be allowed to use certain NBA intellectual property assets and receive commercial rights enabling them to conduct promotional activities across various US media channels. 

They will also gain access to official league data distributed by Sportradar, the NBA’s data distribution partner. 

This information can be used to offer prediction market contracts and determine how they are settled. 

The use of official data is a central element of the collaboration, as it allows contracts related to games to be settled using information recognised by the league. 

DraftKings also joins the NBA’s new strategy 

The NBA is not limiting this development to Kalshi and Polymarket. 

The league has also expanded its agreement with DraftKings, a sports betting operator that is already an official partner. DraftKings will now be able to offer prediction markets and promote them throughout the United States. 

Other agreements could follow soon. 

Over the coming weeks, the NBA plans to expand its relationships with other official sports betting partners to incorporate prediction markets. It is also open to collaborating with additional companies specialising in this sector. 

However, all authorised operators will be required to comply with additional sporting integrity obligations and the NBA’s latest sports betting restrictions. 

Why are prediction markets dividing American sports? 

The NBA’s partnership with these platforms comes amid rapid growth in prediction markets across the United States. 

Several major sports organisations have already signed similar agreements. 

The National Hockey League (NHL) works with both Kalshi and Polymarket. Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) have also established partnerships with Polymarket. 

However, not all major American sports leagues share this strategy. 

The National Football League (NFL) has adopted a considerably more cautious position. In particular, it opposed advertising by Kalshi and Polymarket during the Super Bowl in February 2026. 

The NFL argued that these platforms did not offer sufficient safeguards to protect the integrity of sporting competitions. 

This difference in approach illustrates the uncertainties that continue to surround the development of prediction markets in professional sports. 

A new chapter for the NBA, but questions remain 

Through its partnerships with Kalshi, Polymarket and DraftKings, the NBA is strengthening its presence in a sector that has already attracted several major American sports organisations. 

These agreements mark the beginning of a new phase for the NBA, while the debate over the future of prediction markets remains unresolved.