NFL makes position clear
As the US braces for the debut of NFL prediction markets, the league body has issued a public statement advising its players that betting on the vertical is prohibited.
prediction markets “mimic sports betting”
An NFL official on Monday told a media briefing the body’s view was essentially that prediction markets “mimic sports betting and that they are covered as prohibited conduct under our policy.”
NFL Chief Compliance Officer Sabrina Perel added that the body “was educating” all personnel on its policy update that anyone working in the league cannot bet on NFL markets offered by prediction markets.
NFL players and personnel are also banned from state-regulated sports betting, with Perel highlighting Monday that no players received any disciplinary action last season for gambling-related violations.
State and federal differences
The NFL has long had a wary eye on Contracts for Differences (CFD)s markets, warning the federally controlled Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) about them in a letter last year.
The NFL at the time warned while CFDs mimicked sports betting, the federally sanctioned vertical came without the “robust” regulation found in state-legalized markets.
On Monday, NFL’s Vice President of Sports Betting David Highhill reiterated the body’s concerns about CFDs. Highhill stated the league believed the key difference was that “prediction markets lack certain regulatory requirements that we know regulated sportsbooks are subject to, like information sharing, responsible betting tools, (and) the objectionable bet prohibitions.”
Highhill added the NFL’s concern the CFDs “aren’t properly regulated” means “they could be susceptible to manipulation or price distortion.”
Impact imminent
The NFL’s move to clarify its CFD policy comes as New York-based prediction market giants Kalshi and Polymarket prepare to take football betting by storm.
coming to ALL 50 states this fall.’
According to reports, Polymarket has bankrolled a major ad blitz promoting its US NFL market debut to American bettors with headlines including: ‘Legal football trading is coming to ALL 50 states this fall.’
The NFL on Monday also made it clear, however, that NFL players are permitted to participate in CFD markets on “sports other than the NFL and as long as they aren’t doing it at work or on a work trip.”
