The NBA is widely expected to have prediction-market deals in place by the time this season tips off, with sources telling Front Office Sports there are “deal terms on the table.”
The league has been weighing whether to get into prediction markets since before last season, and FOS reported in April that discussions with at least Kalshi and Polymarket had ramped up. They are not the only platforms under consideration, however. Others involved in talks include Novig, Fanatics, and Rothera, which is a joint venture between Robinhood and Susquehanna, sources tell FOS.
Multiple sources have used the phrase “deal terms on the table,” and one prediction-market industry source tells FOS “there’s almost certainly going to be deals going into the season.”
“The NBA has circulated a proposal to everybody,” says a prediction-market industry executive who expects announcements before the end of this month. “I would be shocked if they don’t try to announce something before the season. They’re not going to want this news to come out a week before the first game.”
What sources are telling FOS lines up with what Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour suggested to RotoWire earlier this week: “you should expect announcements very soon, at least from one of the two remaining major leagues.” The NBA and NFL are the two primary holdouts in U.S. pro sports, and FOS reported last month that the NFL will not have any prediction-market deals in place for the upcoming season.
