Major League Baseball may soon dip its toes in the prediction market business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday during owners\u2019 meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. that the league could soon consider partnering with platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which have become extremely popular, albeit controversial, in recent years.<\/p>\n
Manfred told the room that working with prediction market companies could help ensure the \u201cintegrity\u201d of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Popular prediction-market platforms like Kalshi were banned from advertising during Super Bowl 2026. SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought it was important for the owners to be updated on why prediction markets are different than sports betting \u2014 why we might want to consider being in business with prediction markets in an effort to protect our integrity to get the kind of protections we need,\u201d Manfred said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regulations around legal sports betting, which is handled state by state, and prediction markets, which are federally regulated, Manfred noted, are \u201cvery different,\u201d leaving a sort of grey area for sports leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MLB has long been in bed with the sports betting industry, having begun partnering with such companies in 2018.<\/p>\n
Sports leagues have been slow to associate with prediction markets, but it appears they are starting to change tune.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In October, the NHL became the first major sports league<\/a> to get into business with prediction markets, signing deals with both Polymarket and Kalshi.\u00a0<\/p>\n A month later, UFC\u2019s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, announced a partnership with Polymarket.<\/p>\n The MLS followed the NHL and UFC\u2019s lead last month, reaching a deal with Polymarket.\u00a0<\/p>\n MLB commissioner Rob Manfred answers questions during a news conference at the MLB winter meetings on Dec. 8, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. AP<\/p>\n The NBA hasn\u2019t reached any sort of deal with prediction markets, though Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo announced an ownership stake in Kalshi<\/a> earlier this month<\/p>\n During All-Star Weekend, Kalshi founders, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, and Polymarket founder, Shayne Coplan, will speak during the league\u2019s technology summit, which may signal the coming acceptance of prediction markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not everyone has been as quick to associate with the emerging field.\u00a0<\/p>\n The NFL doesn\u2019t appear ready just yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Polymarket logo. SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cOn the predictive markets, for us, that\u2019s not something we\u2019re about to enter into,\u201d commissioner Roger Goodell said in December. \u201cWe are going to see how things play out, both from a regulatory standpoint. \u2026 There are a lot of legal challenges going on right now.\u201d<\/p>\n The league later banned prediction markets from advertising<\/a> during Super Bowl 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n