NFL pushes feds to crack down on prediction markets

The NFL is pushing federal regulators to tighten up the rules around sports prediction markets, arguing that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s proposed ones don’t go far enough to protect game integrity or consumers.In a comment letter submitted Monday, the league urged the CFTC to outright ban markets it says are especially vulnerable to manipulation, including wagers tied to officiating decisions, individual player performances, first plays of games, coaching decisions and roster moves.The NFL also wants to raise the minimum trading age for sports event contracts to 21, up from the 18-year-old threshold currently allowed by platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.“We believe these objectionable contracts are detrimental to the long-term health of these markets, to the public, and to the leagues,” the league wrote.This filing marks the NFL’s first formal entry into the CFTC’s rulemaking process as the agency weighs how to regulate federally overseen prediction markets that have expanded into sports.The league also rejected the CFTC’s suggestion that restricting contracts would only tempt traders to explore offshore platforms, arguing that popularity should not outweigh something that’s harmful to the public. “Contracts imposing the greatest public interest concerns may be among the highest-traded,” the NFL wrote.“We do not believe that otherwise non-compliant contracts should be permitted because they are in high demand or might otherwise be traded on offshore markets.”The NFL’s comments arrived before Monday’s deadline alongside submissions from the NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, ATP Tour, PGA Tour, the NCAA, FanDuel, DraftKings, Kalshi, Polymarket and Robinhood.Aside from the NBA, which is reportedly in talks with Kalshi and Polymarket, the NFL is the only remaining major North American sports league without a prediction market partnership. Former Sen.

Christopher Dodd, who co-authored the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to strengthen oversight of f...