The National Football League has made its stance clear on prediction markets.
In an amicus brief on Thursday, the league said that the sites fall under the sports gambling umbrella and should similarly be regulated by states.
“Billions of dollars will be bet on NFL games through prediction markets each season, and any delay from the Court will result in increasing consumer harm and risk to game integrity,” the NFL wrote in the brief, via ESPN.
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The league sent a letter to prediction market operators just before the start of the season saying they objected to markets like coaching and officiating decisions, injuries, and other markets that could be swayed by insider info. The league has yet to partner with predict markets but does have deals with official online sportsbooks.
“The [Commodity Futures Trading] Commission’s failure even to reference such objectionable contracts that the NFL identified months ago — contracts that have been and continue to be listed as contracts by operators like Kalshi — is deeply concerning and creates significant risks for the NFL’s players, coaches, and officials and market participants,” the league said.
The CFTC, however, said that it has been in touch with the league as prediction markets have risen, but the league has not entered an agreement with them to work together.
“Since day 1, the CFTC has engaged with the NFL regarding the agency’s rulemaking agenda and policy priorities. It’s unfortunate the NFL declined to sign an MOU with the CFTC which would’ve provided the league the ability to better discuss, cooperate, and exchange information with us to promote the integrity and resilience of prediction markets,” Brooke Nethercott, public affairs director for the CFTC, told Fox News Digital.
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A CFTC source said that “just weeks ago, several senior NFL staff members notified senior CFTC staff that they were on the verge of commercial partnerships with several prediction market operators.”
Kalshi also took a shot at the NFL for not being “willing to share data and collaborate to protect game integrity.”
“Kalshi’s top priority is the integrity of its markets. That priority is reflected in the fact that other major sports league and integrity partner in the United States is partnering with Kalshi—including the MLB, NHL, USTA and others,” Kalshi told Fox News Digital. “Contrary to the NFL’s statements, the CFTC is actively policing sports-related markets, which are now listed on nearly every US commodities exchange. The CFTC’s ongoing rulemaking addresses many of the NFL’s supposed concerns. And those rules sit atop the same comprehensive system of federal enforcement that protects trillions of dollars of transactions in US markets.”
A source from the CFTC also said that the NFL’s brief “makes clear that it is most interested in regulating the regulator, not game integrity.”
“While this bullying tactic may work in the states, the CFTC will not be subject to regulatory capture, which is exactly why the federal framework established by Congress is the most effective way to regulate prediction markets,” the source said.
“This is not about the NFL opposing prediction markets…” an NFL source said. “If the CFTC were to adopt the same robust regulatory approach as states, this would be less of an issue…
“For years, ever since sports betting on prediction markets started to gain traction, the NFL has been closely engaged in the relevant policy discussions. This is about protecting game integrity and consumers—just like legalized sports betting. There have already been billions of dollars in NFL wagers on prediction markets this season. Given this volume of trading and the uncertainty around it, it is critical for the Court to act as soon as possible. But it is unclear if the Commission has the resources or staff to adequately regulate sports betting.”
“Polymarket shares the NFL’s commitment to preserving the integrity of the game, which is why we’ve built advanced market surveillance tools and are actively collaborating with the CFTC, SEC, and other professional leagues toward a harmonized federal framework that delivers a stronger, more consistent form of integrity compared to a patchwork of disconnected state laws built for a bygone era,” a Polymarket spokesperson said.
The league’s filing comes as New Jersey challenges a federal appeals court ruling that favored Kalshi’s position that federal commodities law overrides state gambling regulations.
Prediction markets can be used by those 18 and older, while online sportsbooks are limited to those 21 and older.
