There wasn’t much prediction markets news this week, unless you count the Ninth Circuit ruling 3-0 against Kalshi last Friday, a Michigan judge ordering Kalshi to shut off sports and geoblock the state, and the small matter of New Jersey formally petitioning the Supreme Court to rule on whether sports event contracts are legal.
Even beyond those headlines, plenty happened. Every Friday, SBC Americas rounds up some of the prediction markets stories you might have missed.
NBA finally ready to do prediction markets deals?
While other leagues have partnered with Kalshi and Polymarket, the NBA has remained on the sidelines thus far when it comes to prediction markets partnerships. But Front Office Sports reported on Thursday that the league is likely to publicly confirm deals by the time the new season starts.
Sources told FOS that there are “deal terms on the table”, and that the companies being considered include not only the aforementioned two but also Fanatics, Novig, and Robinhood and Susquehanna joint venture Rothera.
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour told RotoWire this week that “you should expect announcements very soon, at least from one of the two remaining major leagues” [meaning the NBA and NFL]. The NFL recently announced official sports betting and casino partners for the 2026 season, but distanced itself from making any prediction market deals this year.
Kalshi scraps NFL injury markets at CFTC request
For now, though, the NFL is standing firm.
In last week’s ‘Prediction Markets Weekly’, we reported that Polymarket withdrew its filings for event contracts based on NFL player availability soon after listing them, but that Kalshi still offered those markets. Well, that changed.
After NFL injury markets appeared and then vanished on Kalshi’s platform recently, a source at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) told Sportico that the agency asked the company to remove them.
The CFTC’s Public Interest Determinations published in March specifically noted event contracts related to player health as ones that raise “serious public interest concerns”, citing dangers of creating “perverse financial incentives that could encourage or facilitate physical harm to athletes” as well as the potential for insider trading. The CFTC’s proposed rulemaking in June suggested that such contracts should not be allowed.
The NFL once again raised concerns over these kinds of contracts and more in a letter sent to prediction markets companies this week.
US Open signs Kalshi for tennis partnership
Kalshi added to its roster of sports partners by becoming the exclusive official prediction markets partner of the US Open tennis tournament, beginning with the in-progress 2026 edition.
If you’ve tuned in at all, you will likely have noticed the Kalshi signage displayed prominently on courts and via the competition’s digital platforms.
US Tennis Association CEO Craig Tiley said that partnering with Kalshi “gives us an opportunity to pioneer that next generation of fan engagement while ensuring the integrity of our sport,” echoing the kind of comments we’ve heard from other leagues and teams that struck deals with prediction markets operators.
NYT staff not so pleased
Not everyone is so thrilled about the idea of an official association with Kalshi, though.
Days after Front Office Sports reported that The New York Times-owned sports publication The Athletic was in “serious talks” with Kalshi aout a sponsorship deal, the same outlet followed up with a report that the NYT abandoned the idea after receiving strong pushback from the workers’ union The NewsGuild of New York.
“Any partnership between Kalshi and The Athletic would threaten our journalistic independence across the company,” wrote staff in a letter to their employer. They also noted that Kalshi’s products “have been described by New York Officials in our reporting as an ‘illegal operation’.”
A source claimed to FOS that the union’s objections had no bearing in the decision to drop the proposed partnership.
Kalshi is already a partner of several media companies, including CNN and CNBC. The Athletic previously had a deal with BetMGM.
Donald Trump Jr. pumps money into Polymarket
Multiple outlets included Bloomberg reported that venture capital firm 1789 Capital is leading a new funding round for Polymarket that will take the prediction markets company’s theoretical valuation to $21bn.
The new funding round is expected to raise $1bn, with 1789 Capital itself adding another $300m, which represents a doubling of its investment in the firm. The Wall Street Journal reports that 1789 Capital is now one of Polymarket’s largest investors. One of that firm’s partners is Donald Trump Jr., who is an advisor to not only Polymarket but also Kalshi.
The new injection will be the latest this year for Polymarket. A previous funding round in April took its valulation up to $15bn. Kalshi’s valuation i currently estimated at around $40bn.
Rothera taps Stats Perform for data
Just as it is for state-regulated sportsbooks, official league data has become a valuable asset for sports-focused prediction markets. Kalshi and Polymarket have official deals with arguably the two leaders in that space, Genius Sports and Sportradar.
Now, Robinhood and Susquehanna joint venture exchange Rothera has partnered with Stats Perform for a collaboration that will provide the platform with live data and game results for the purposes of creating, trading, and settling sports event contracts. The deal with Stats Perform, which owns the Opta sports data brand, will encompass sports including college and professional football, the NBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, ATP and WTA tennis, and Formula 1.
“As institutional participation in event contract markets continues to grow, Rothera is focused on expanding the regulated exchange and clearing infrastructure needed to support that demand,” said a press release. “Access to accurate, reliable sports data is an important part of that effort, to support clearly defined contracts, transparent markets and objective settlement.”
