NFL Calls on CFTC to Strengthen Oversight of Prediction Markets

(AsiaGameHub) –   The National Football League (NFL) has submitted a formal request to the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) calling for stricter oversight of prediction markets amid their rapid expansion.

NFL Urged CFTC For More Control

NFL Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy Brendon Plack addressed a letter to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig on Friday, as the commission advances its rulemaking efforts regarding these markets. In the correspondence, Plack explained that the league’s recommendations aim to safeguard the integrity of NFL operations. He emphasized that the proposed measures are intended to shield both the sporting events linked to prediction contracts and market participants from fraud or manipulation.

Plack has consistently advocated using existing state gambling regulations as a model for implementing protections around sports-related prediction market contracts. He further recommended that the National Futures Association work closely with state gaming authorities via data-sharing arrangements and strengthened enforcement protocols to identify and bar individuals who should be excluded from trading.

The NFL is not alone in its push for tighter CFTC regulation of prediction markets. Earlier this month, for instance, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board publicly criticized the CFTC’s current approach to overseeing these platforms.

What Else Does the NFL Want?

Among its key recommendations, the NFL highlighted the need to ban certain contracts it deems particularly susceptible to manipulation by a single person—such as bets on whether a kicker misses a field goal or whether a quarterback’s first pass is incomplete.

The league also called for restrictions on contracts tied to outcomes that could be predetermined, including the game’s opening play. Additionally, the NFL seeks the removal of contracts involving what it describes as “inherently objectionable” events, such as player injuries, which it argues are prone to exploitation. This is not the first time the NFL has voiced such concerns; in April, it warned prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket to cease offering these types of events due to their vulnerability to abuse.

The letter also raised concerns about the current minimum age of 18 for prediction market users. The NFL, aligning with several other professional sports leagues, urged the CFTC to raise the eligibility age for purchasing prediction contracts from 18 to 21. Furthermore, the league proposed establishing a formal certification process for individual player performance contracts, rather than permitting platforms to self-certify them.

The NFL is not the only major U.S. sports organization advocating for stricter CFTC rules on prediction markets. Earlier this month, the NBA also called on the commission to impose more rigorous regulations on platforms offering event-based contracts.