Today’s announcement that the NHL is partnering with Kalshi and Polymarket—prediction market platforms that currently offer sports-based contracts to consumers in all 50 states—is deeply troubling. These companies operate entirely outside the legal sports betting framework established by states, tribal governments, and federal law. In doing so, they threaten the integrity of sports and the protections in place for consumers. Let’s be clear: Kalshi and Polymarket are offering sports wagers without any of the consumer protections or integrity standards required of licensed operators. They lack fundamental safeguards such as responsible gaming tools and anti-money laundering controls. They’re offering sports betting to anyone 18+, where the vast majority of legal U.S. states require individuals to be 21 to wager. And lastly, they’re not accountable to any state regulator or tribal authority—and that should alarm every stakeholder in the sports ecosystem. This partnership isn’t just disappointing—it’s dangerous. It risks misleading fans into thinking these platforms offer the same protections and legal clarity as licensed sportsbooks. They do not. In fact, the legal status of these platforms under federal law is far from settled. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has yet to fully review these sports contracts, and serious questions remain about whether they comply with longstanding prohibitions on gaming under the Commodity Exchange Act. There are no fewer than a half dozen courts in the U.S. considering these questions. Multiple state regulatory bodies have deemed these platforms to be illegal. And if the NHL took the time to consider these arguments, they’d quickly realize that the attorneys general in 15 of their 19 home markets in the U.S. filed an amicus brief in the Third Circuit case, noting that “eliminating the States’ ability to regulate online sports betting would pose very serious risks to the States’ citizens." The U.S. has spent the last seven years building one of the world’s most robust legal sports betting market—one defined by transparency, responsibility, and integrity. The success of this market is rooted in strong state and tribal regulation, industry compliance, and public trust. By contrast, Kalshi and Polymarket represent an end-run around these hard-fought protections. They decide who can bet, where they bet, and how they bet, without any community input. Their expansion into sports wagering is nothing more than unlicensed gambling. Gaming regulations are not optional. And leagues should not lend their credibility to companies that refuse to play by the rules. The AGA has been vocal in urging the CFTC to do its job and enforce its own rules. Congress made clear that gaming contracts are not under the CFTC’s purview. That remains true today and, we’ll continue to advocate for a legal, transparent, and responsible gaming market—and we won’t hesitate to call out efforts that undermine it.
You are a complete joke Bill. There is no such word as “gaming” as you have presented it only to equivocate the facts, truth and 250 years of federal commerce, securities, communications and consumer protection law. There is zero standing for casinos, lotteries, Indian tribes and any other carnival stands of negative edge boardwalk games to try to conflate themselves with defined US federal securities. States are only relevant in a suppprting role as per Uniform Securities Act of 1956. Even absolute Luddites like Wallach have been forced to concede to the facts, the truth and the law
Bruce Merati
3w
Bill Miller it is sad to see an ex AGA executive is now bad mouthing gaming regulators and is using the knowledge and connections she gained when she was representing casinos against the entire industry. Did AGA have any kind of non-compete agreement with her?
Rick Lane
2w
Great post Bill. As we have seen with the recent indictments around the NBA, the fact that you can bet anonymously complete undermines the integrity of all sports involved. Not to mention the potential of money laundering. Since some argue that this does not fall under federal and state gaming laws are NCAA, NFL, MLB, NHL players allowed to participate in this “prediction market”? If players are banned, that what is the real difference?
Ciaran Henry
3w
Bill Miller very well written & informative post. A similar situation took place in the UK (& to a lesser degree still does) with unlicensed* operators sponsoring sides in the football pyramid
NHL traditionally has not been a sport with a lot of action in terms of sports betting. Great move.
Chairman Of The Board at Metric Gaming
3w”they threaten the integrity of sports and the protections in place for consumers” How do they impact the integrity of sports? What significant protections are consumers losing out on? ”They lack fundamental safeguards such as responsible gaming tools and anti-money laundering controls.” This is a false narrative, and in so many ways. Do you have any data that supports the notion that the incumbent RG tools actually has any (positive) effect at all vis-a-vis problem gambling? How is the industry, and the end consumer positively impacted by stricter AML controls? ”This partnership isn’t just disappointing—it’s dangerous” Dangerous how? ”Multiple state regulatory bodies have deemed these platforms to be illegal” Shocking! ”The U.S. has spent the last seven years building one of the world’s most robust legal sports betting market—one defined by transparency, responsibility, and integrity” Lol - it’s not a free market; it’s highly anti-competitive; and integrity = fake news. ”And leagues should not lend their credibility to companies that refuse to play by the rules” You mean like NFL charging licensed brands integrity fees, and then calling refs to change irreversible calls? That really builds public trust?