NFL urges CFTC to tighten sports prediction-market rules

The NFL sent a letter dated July 27 to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig asking the agency to tighten its draft rules for sports prediction markets. The league said the current proposal does not sufficiently protect the integrity of games or consumers.

The letter states, “The NFL’s highest priority is preserving the integrity of our games.” The league asked the CFTC to refine definitions and impose clearer limits on event contracts it considers susceptible to manipulation.

The NFL identified specific contract types of concern: markets that can be influenced by a single actor, those that depend on discretionary officiating, and contracts that hinge on outcomes knowable in advance. The letter argued some event contracts are “not meaningfully differentiated” from traditional gambling and should be treated accordingly.

The league criticized a proposed 10-day pre-approval window for event contracts, calling it too short and saying it could allow risky contracts to remain listed without adequate review. The letter singled out markets such as “Offensive Player of the Year,” which are decided by voting panels and seen as vulnerable to manipulation or conflicts of interest.

On insider trading, the NFL asked for explicit rules restricting the use of material non-public information and recommended mandatory, league-specific prohibited-bettor lists instead of leaving enforcement to platforms. The letter repeated prior recommendations including a ban on margin trading for event contracts, limits on advertising, enhanced consumer protections and a minimum betting age of 21.

The correspondence follows an earlier request in March asking major prediction-market platforms to scale back certain contract offerings. While some U.S. leagues have pursued commercial partnerships with market operators, the NFL has emphasized regulatory limits.

The CFTC withdrew a 2024 proposal that would have barred sports and political event contracts and has been developing a new framework to treat event contracts as derivatives. Michael Selig, appointed CFTC chair in 2025, has supported a more permissive regulatory approach for prediction platforms.

The NFL asked the agency to extend or strengthen review processes, adopt mandatory league-specific safeguards and tighten contract definitions to reduce manipulation risk and protect consumers. The letter called for more specific protections to support the administration of event contracts tied to NFL games.