The NBA embraces gambling: partnership with Kalshi and Polymarket amid a credibility crisis

The NBA continues to strengthen its ties with the betting industry despite the scandals that have shaken the competition in recent years. The league has announced an agreement with Kalshi and Polymarket, two of the leading prediction market platforms, which will be able to use its official data and logos while the organization gains new oversight tools. An alliance that the NBA presents as a way to protect sports integrity, but which also raises an uncomfortable question: to what extent can it combat the risks of betting while contributing to expand its business?

The agreement makes both companies preferred prediction platforms for the league and represents another step in the normalization of a sector that has gained ground in American sports. The NBA will not only allow them to use its intellectual property but will also grant them access to official data to settle markets and the possibility of advertising during game broadcasts.

The NBA wants to control betting while expanding its business

One of the most significant aspects of the agreement is that the NBA will have the power to approve or reject the markets offered by Kalshi and Polymarket. The league will be able to veto proposals it considers inappropriate, a power it does not possess in the same way with its traditional sports betting partners.

Restrictions will also be applied to certain markets considered particularly sensitive, such as bets on a single player action, individual negative results, athletes expected to play less than 12 minutes, and low-probability combined bets.

The official explanation seems reasonable on paper: having more information allows for the detection of suspicious movements, investigation of potential irregularities, and makes it difficult to use insider information. However, the other side of the operation is evident. The NBA is strengthening the commercial presence of prediction markets while trying to control their risks.

Kalshi and Polymarket will be able to leverage the name, data, and audience of one of the most popular sports competitions in the world. The league, for its part, gains influence over the products offered and access to information about the operations. The protection of the competition and commercial interests again walk hand in hand, although it is not always easy to distinguish where one ends and the other begins.

The expansion is not limited to these two companies. The NBA will also expand its agreement with DraftKings to include prediction markets and hopes to do the same with FanDuel, Fanatics, and other operators.

The league has also reached a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). However, the regulatory framework remains disputed. New York has sued Kalshi and Polymarket, arguing that their activities constitute sports betting without the proper license. The proceedings are still ongoing.

The scandals that question the NBA's narrative

The announcement comes after a series of cases that have put pressure on the competition's credibility. Jontay Porter, a former player for the Toronto Raptors, was expelled from the NBA in 2024 after the league concluded he had bet on games and collaborated with bettors. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Justice charged him with manipulating his performance to favor certain bets. Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The list of cases does not end there. Malik Beasley is negotiating a possible deal with federal prosecutors after being charged this summer in an investigation into sports betting. Former player Ed Davis was also charged in the same case, although he has pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile, Terry Rozier is awaiting trial after being accused of accepting a bribe to leave a game for the Charlotte Hornets in 2023 and favoring certain bets on his performance. Rozier has pleaded not guilty. Former Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was also charged in October in an investigation related to allegedly rigged poker games.

The NBA has responded with new rules and mandatory training for teams on betting-related restrictions. But the succession of investigations demonstrates that the issue cannot be resolved solely with internal controls or commercial agreements.

Players caught in an increasingly invasive industry

The contradiction becomes even more evident when observing the impact that betting has on the protagonists themselves. Several NBA players have reported an increase in insults and harassment on social media from fans who lose money on their predictions.

At the same time, some of the biggest stars of the competition have signed commercial agreements with these platforms. Giannis Antetokounmpo partnered with Kalshi and LeBron James recently announced his collaboration with Polymarket. The involvement of such prominent figures helps normalize a business that is already part of the experience for many fans.

The NBA's argument is that prohibiting or ignoring these activities would reduce its ability to oversee them. According to the league, collaborating with the companies and accessing their data allows for better understanding of market movements and detecting potential threats to game integrity.

But that reasoning also has a weak point: the more the league integrates into the betting ecosystem, the greater the commercial interest in the continued growth of that market. The NBA aims to act as a watchdog over an activity from which it also derives benefits and exposure.

The alliance with Kalshi and Polymarket does not, by itself, indicate that a new wave of irregularities will occur. It does, however, highlight a strategic choice: instead of maintaining a greater distance from this business, the league has chosen to integrate even further into it.

The NBA promises more control, but its bet is also a commercial expansion of prediction markets. And, following the recent scandals and the harassment complaints from its players, the question is no longer just how to monitor betting, but what price the league is willing to pay to make it an increasingly visible part of its product.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La NBA se entrega a las apuestas: alianza con Kalshi y Polymarket en plena crisis de credibilidad