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Shwetha Surendran
Multiple Authors
The NBA asked the nation’s top commodities regulator Thursday to impose tighter restrictions on players, game officials and team staff to ensure prediction markets don’t undermine sports integrity and fan confidence.
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 posed by prediction markets are similar to those associated with sports betting.
The letter comes as the CFTC weighs whether to amend its regulations on prediction markets. The NBA’s call for tighter controls 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 games and preserving public confidence in our league and in our sport,” Spillane wrote, making clear that the league takes no position regarding ongoing battles between states and the CFTC over the right to regulate prediction markets.
But the industry requires “robust and comprehensive regulations,” he wrote, citing the risks inherent in athletes and others placing contracts on the sports in which they participate.
Spillane identified specific markets that, he said, might be prone to manipulation, such as those relating to officiating, injuries and fan actions. He also called for a strict ban on contract trading by anyone younger than 21.
The league’s submission is in response to a call for public comment as part of the CFTC’s rule-making process on prediction markets. The comment period began March 13 and ended Thursday. The agency reported receiving nearly 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 also called for increased cooperation between prediction markets and leagues with regard to suspicious trading, data sharing and league investigations.
