Polymarket Pulls NFL Player Bets After CFTC Request
Polymarket has withdrawn a self-certification that would have let it offer markets on NFL player availability, after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission asked prediction market operators to avoid the format. Rival Kalshi is continuing to offer similar contracts.
Polymarket self-certified a market on "Will Patrick Mahomes participate in the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 1 regular-season game?" on Tuesday last week, then withdrew the filing the following day. The Chiefs are favourites on leading sportsbooks to win their opener.
A Polymarket source told ESPN the company pulled the filing "to be in full compliance with the CFTC" and that it continues to engage with the regulator on its offerings.
Mahomes is recovering from a season-ending left knee injury sustained last year. The CFTC also spoke with at least one other major prediction market operator about not offering NFL player availability contracts, ESPN reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions. The CFTC did not respond to ESPN's request for comment.
NFL Objects To Injury-Linked Markets
The NFL told the CFTC in writing that it objects to any markets tied to injuries or officiating, or to any outcome that could be known in advance or manipulated by one person. The league told ESPN it considers the withdrawn Mahomes market to be injury-related.
"Without a formal relationship, all the NFL can do is ask," Jeff Miller, the league's executive vice president of public affairs, told ESPN. Miller said he hopes the CFTC will eventually create a process where the league is consulted before such markets go live.
The CFTC's own proposed rules state that markets directly tied to player injuries are "contrary to the public interest" and could "create perverse financial incentives that could encourage or facilitate physical harm to athletes."
Kalshi Keeps Offering Player Availability Contracts
Kalshi did not respond to ESPN's questions about any CFTC guidance on the format. As of Friday, Kalshi was still offering a market on whether Mahomes will start the Chiefs' season opener against the Denver Broncos, giving him a 94% chance of playing, along with other contracts on when injured players will return.
It marks one of the CFTC's first interventions against a prediction market operator's self-certified contract. The agency previously pushed back on Kalshi offering mention markets tied to what sports commentators say during broadcasts; Kalshi no longer offers those.
