CFTC Chair Michael Selig signaled that the agency would defer to the football league in calling for changes to event contracts that could be manipulated by a single person.
The National Football League (NFL) has reportedly sent letters to Kalshi, Polymarket and other prediction market platforms in an effort to block the companies from offering trades on football events that can be easily manipulated or determined in advance.
According to a Monday ESPN report, the letters to the prediction market companies said that the NFL objected to certain types of event contracts offered on the platforms, including those that could be easily manipulated by a single person — such as an announcer’s words, player signings, coach firings and bets related to injuries on the field. League executive vice president Jeff Miller reportedly said the letter followed talks with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
“When a league raises manipulation concerns about a contract proposed to be listed on a prediction market, the agency considers the league’s concerns and may prohibit the contract from being listed,” said CFTC Chair Michael Selig in a Monday interview with ESPN posted to X, adding:
“[T]he leagues are very well positioned to make those calls and so we are going to afford a lot of deference to the leagues on these types of issues.”
Under Selig, the CFTC has moved toward claiming “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets even as many US state gaming authorities continue to file lawsuits against platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Earlier this month, Major League Baseball (MLB) signed a memorandum of understanding with the US regulator in response to requests for “integrity protections.”
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Cointelegraph reached out to Kalshi and Polymarket for comment on the NFL letters but did not receive an immediate response.
US lawmakers mull legislation to fight insider trading on prediction markets
The NFL’s letter comes as lawmakers in the US Congress introduced bills in response to “highly unusual bets” bets on prediction markets platforms, signaling insider information about the country’s attacks on Iran. Another proposed bill would ban a US president and lawmakers from making wagers on the platforms.
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