U.S. CFTC secures deal with National Hockey League on prediction market safeguards

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email U.S. CFTC secures deal with National Hockey League on prediction market safeguards A new arrangement has been set between the derivatives regulator and professional hockey, following on the heels of a similar baseball agreement. By Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De May 21, 2026, 3:12 p.m. 2 min read Make preferred on The National Hockey League has agreed to share information with U.S. federal regulators to keep prediction market betting fair. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) What to know : The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has secured a memorandum of understanding with the National Hockey League to share information connected to prediction market betting. The MOU is the latest arrangement between the derivatives regulator and a major sports league, following a similar memo with Major League Baseball. In the midst of its playoffs surge, the top professional hockey league has agreed to coordinate oversight of betting on popular prediction markets with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, securing a new memorandum of understanding similar to the one recently struck with Major League Baseball . The National Hockey League, which had officially linked itself last year with both Kalshi and Polymarket as the league's official prediction market partners, has agreed to share information with the regulator on event contracts tied to its games, according to a Thursday statement from the agency. The CFTC has been pursuing similar arrangements with all of the professional sports leagues , Chairman Mike Selig said at an event last week. "This agreement is another step toward safeguarding the integrity of sports and protecting market participants in prediction markets from insider trading, fraud, and other abuses," he said of the NHL arrangement in a statement. Selig has made it a point to foster the industry and to defend his agency's role as its sole regulator. Prediction market betting has seen explosive growth in recent years, and along with its popularity has come concerns that the wagering is being abused and is encouraging cheating. In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing this week, lawmakers criticized the dark side of the industry. Bad actors — including among the athletes themselves — threaten to "sow doubt in the minds of fans," said committee Chairman Ted Cruz. "Integrity has always been and remains paramount to the NHL and fundamental to the trust our fans and partners place in our game,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, in a statement released by the CFTC. “Our agreement with the CFTC enhances the comprehensive integrity monitoring systems already in place and strengthens our ability to identify, deter, and address potential risks." According to the new MOU, the league and regulator will "endeavor to share information, upon request, regarding the integrity of professional hockey and the event contract markets related thereto or other matters deemed appropriate." Read More: Prediction markets firms take heat in Senate Commerce hearing scrutinizing surge Prediction Markets Kalshi Polymarket More For You Polymarket moves to list parlays while SEC seeks public input on prediction market ETFs By Nikhilesh De 16 hours ago The "combinatorial outcome contracts" would resolve if every part of an underlying contract resolved, according to a filing. Read full story Latest Crypto News Crypto for Advisors: Crypto Products 14 minutes ago MoonPay expands into tokenized assets and DeFi markets with new platform for banks 31 minutes ago Peer-to-peer trading startup Variational raises $50 million for real-world perps in funding round led by Dragonfly 1 hour ago Live markets: Bitcoin's flat action continues as SpaceX IPO, Nvidia earnings capture news cycle 1 hour ago Blockchain.com files with SEC for U.S. IPO 1 hour ago Bitcoin's long-term holder supply approaches record high, breaking multi-year downtrend 1 hour ago Top Stories The $6 billion expiration countdown: Traders pile into $82,000 bitcoin calls ahead of May 29 expiry 4 hours ago Binance launches SpaceX pre-IPO perps amid $2 trillion valuation bets 8 hours ago Don't call us just a WLFI treasury company, says AI Financial 9 hours ago HYPE leads crypto rebound as traders position for volatility breakout 4 hours ago A crypto whale has made a $224,000 bet that XRP's price stays perfectly flat through June 5 hours ago It's not all HYPE: Privacy and quantum-resistant coins advance as bitcoin coasts 3 hours ago