NFL players are prohibited from engaging in football-related propositions on prediction market sites and other platforms that "mimic sports betting," a league official said Monday.
Sabrina Perel, NFL vice president and chief compliance officer, said players and all league personnel are prohibited from engaging with prediction markets, which allow customers to trade on sports outcome more like stocks instead of traditional wagers.
"Our view is that these platforms mimic sports betting, and that they are covered as prohibited conduct under our policy," Perel said during a media briefing highlighting the league's sports betting protocols. "That would be for all of our personnel, and now we're educating on this point as well, specifically stating that engaging in these platforms would be prohibited under the policy."
Players are allowed to wager on non-NFL events, but league personnel are prohibited from all betting.
Prediction markets allow customers to trade on sports outcomes more like stocks and say they are regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, not state gambling regulators.
The NFL has expressed concern that since prediction market sites operate outside of state regulations, they lack some of the protections that have been put in place in the traditional sports betting market. David Highhill, NFL vice president of sports betting, said a lack of information sharing, responsible betting tools and prohibitions on certain types of bets that the league finds objectionable are concerns with prediction markets.
"We're concerned that if these markets aren't properly regulated, they could be susceptible to manipulation or price distortion," Highhill told reporters.
A spokesperson for Kalshi told ESPN in a statement that the CFTC provides robust federal oversight on all its markets.
"Kalshi goes even further to operate with the highest level of integrity, launching responsible trading features such as deposit limits and self-exclusion, and partnering for additional oversight with compliance firm IC360, which works with every major league and sportsbook," the spokesperson said. "We are committed to working with the NFL and all leagues to address their concerns, share data, and be as transparent as we are legally allowed to be."
The NFL also touched on its opposition to certain types of bets, such as will a player miss a field goal or the result of a quarterback's first pass. Highhill said the league is against types of bets that have minimal fan engagement and are more vulnerable to manipulation.
"It's up to us to continue to monitor those and make sure that we're not facing undue risk," Highhill said.
