NBA Treats Prediction Markets as Gambling, Silver Confirms

National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver has signaled that his organization approaches prediction markets with the same regulatory scrutiny applied to conventional sports betting operations.

Addressing media during All-Star Weekend festivities, Silver explicitly categorized platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket as gambling businesses. “We essentially view prediction markets identically to how we view sports betting markets and sports betting companies,” he clarified.

Silver also responded to inquiries regarding Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s financial involvement with Kalshi. He characterized the player’s stake as “minuscule,” confirming it complies with collective bargaining agreements permitting athletes to maintain minority positions below 1% in wagering enterprises.

The NBA’s restrained posture diverges from approaches adopted by competing sports organizations. The National Hockey League has established formal partnerships with both Polymarket and Kalshi. Major League Soccer secured an exclusive arrangement with Polymarket. Major League Baseball has hinted at potential commercial cooperation under appropriate circumstances. The National Football League maintains tighter restrictions but has demonstrated growing curiosity about audience engagement possibilities.

Silver underscored unresolved legal questions hovering over the sector. “The long-term viability of prediction markets in their current configuration will likely be determined by judicial interpretation and congressional action,” he predicted.

The league’s measured position follows several high-profile wagering controversies. Federal authorities have prosecuted multiple defendants including active players and coaching staff in connection with betting schemes. The NBA permanently excluded former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter from league activities during 2024.

Silver emphasized the extraordinary monitoring burden his organization faces, with betting activity sanctioned across forty American states and more than eighty international jurisdictions.

The fundamental regulatory controversy centers on jurisdictional classification whether prediction markets constitute commodities regulated by the CFTC or gambling subject to state oversight. Silver’s remarks indicate the NBA prefers subjecting these platforms to established wagering integrity protocols.