NFL requests Kalshi and Polymarket to delist easily manipulated contracts; CFTC states it will respect the league's opinion.

BlockBeats news, March 31, according to The Block: the National Football League (NFL) has sent letters to prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, asking them to “avoid offering contract trading related to events that are easily manipulated or predetermined.” Michael Selig, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), immediately commented that there will be ample room for the league at the regulatory level.

According to ESPN, in the letter the NFL specifically named the following categories of contracts: contracts tied to single-game events (such as whether a quarterback’s first pass is incomplete or whether a kicker commits a missed kick due to a penalty), contracts related to draft picks and roster decision-making, and contracts related to broadcast mentions or celebrity appearances. It also raised objections to markets related to penalty kicks and player injuries, arguing that the above contracts could create incentives for manipulation.

In an interview, CFTC Chairman Selig said, “If a league tells us that a contract is easy to manipulate, we will assess the risks in it. A league is very well-suited to make those determinations.” It is not yet clear whether Kalshi and Polymarket plan to adjust their products; The Block has requested comment from both platforms and the NFL.

On the legislative front, lawmakers have proposed a bipartisan bill that would ban federally unregulated prediction markets from providing sports-related contracts. Several states are also challenging the legality of these platforms through legal means. By contrast, Major League Baseball (MLB) earlier this month reached a cooperation with Polymarket, and signed information-sharing and internal risk monitoring agreements with the CFTC, taking a collaborative rather than adversarial approach.