\n Posted on: March 22, 2026, 04:16h.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Last updated on: March 22, 2026, 04:16h.\n <\/p>\n
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- MLB-Polymarket announce new partnership<\/b><\/li>\n
- MLB latest pro sports league to enter the prediction market space<\/b><\/li>\n
- Interview with former NFL lawyer who negotiated and drafted gambling contracts for the league<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Major League Baseball\u2019s decision to enter the prediction market space, signing a deal with Polymarket, has generated a lot of discussion and debate, especially for a sport that has a long, sordid history when it comes to gambling, going all the way back to the Black Sox game-fixing scandal during the 1919 World Series.<\/p>\n
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A detailed view of a basket of baseballs on the field before the spring training game between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field earlier this month in Tampa, Florida. (Image: Mark Taylor\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Sordid History<\/h2>\n
MLB on Thursday named Polymarket the league\u2019s official prediction market exchange (online platforms where users wager on the outcomes of future events). MLB is the latest in a line of deals involving pro sports leagues and prediction market companies \u2013 Major League Soccer\u2019s multi-year deal with Polymarket announced in January, Polymarket and Kalshi\u2019s multi-year deal with the National Hockey League announced last October.<\/p>\n
However, the debate about the legality of prediction markets remains loud. The American Gaming Association, working for the regulated sports betting industry, has been waging an ongoing information battle against sports event contracts offered through prediction markets. The AGA said prediction markets should be regulated in the same way as other forms of legal, state-regulated sports betting.<\/p>\n
MLB-CFTC Deal<\/h2>\n
Companies like Polymarket say what they offer are financial instruments governed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The AGA released a survey last September that said 85% of Americans surveyed viewed sports event contracts as gambling \u2013 only 6% said they are most like a financial instrument.<\/p>\n
As part of the deal, Polymarkets gets to use MLB marks and logos on its platform and data from Sportradar for its baseball markets. A key component of the partnership is the establishment of an integrity framework, working together to restrict markets that are integrity risks, like individual pitches, manager decisions, and umpire performance.<\/p>\n
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Doug Mishkin, former NFL lead attorney. Image: BCLP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Legality Debate<\/h2>\n
Also, MLB and the CFTC signed an agreement centred around the confidential sharing of information \u2013 all part of warding off threats to the integrity of the game, ensuring swift response to incidents, anticipating emerging trends, as prediction markets continue to grow and evolve.<\/p>\n
Reaction and opinion to this have been widespread \u2013 a blurry line between betting and investing, too risky, or smart, boosting fan engagement for the new age, incorporating crypto (since that\u2019s what people use to bet on Polymarket), using the CFTC to keep things clean?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no better perspective on this than from Doug Mishkin, a former lawyer at the NFL and current partner at BCLP in Manhattan, a law firm there. Mishkin was the lead attorney the NFL\u2019s major gambling deals, negotiating and drafting the contracts, working across key sports betting initiatives following the 2018 ruling that legalized sports gambling nationwide.<\/p>\n
Pro Sports Leagues and Prediction Markets<\/h2>\n
\u201cAt this point, with sports prediction market platforms enjoying widespread popularity among sports fans, it\u2019s not irrational for leagues to conclude that their best option is to exert whatever control they still can via contractual partnerships \u2013 while naturally benefitting financially as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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But sports leagues and teams have not historically been immersed in the Commodities Exchange Act, which passed in 1936 \u2013 whereas with sports betting in the U.S., the leagues were actively engaged with state regulators at the outset, to help shape new state-by-state sports betting legislation. So this is new territory from that standpoint, and I expect there will be a learning curve on all sides to determine the most responsible, effective way to approach these partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Integrity Concerns<\/h2>\n
In the MLB-Polymarket deal, with the legality of prediction markets currently being debated across the country, there\u2019s language built in that voids the partnership if courts were to rule that prediction markets violate state law. There are lawsuits in several U.S. states presently addressing the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concept of addressing legal contingencies in a contract isn\u2019t novel \u2013 there are parallels to the daily fantasy sports industry around 2015, when leagues and teams were establishing official sponsorships, despite attorney general allegations around the country that DFS constituted illegal gambling,\u201d said Mishkin.<\/p>\n
Stakes Are High<\/h2>\n
\u201cBut DFS was operating on a state-by-state basis, undertaking individual analyses based on each state\u2019s respective gambling laws. If courts ruled against DFS, the operator could simply exit the state. But prediction market platforms are operating nationwide, on the basis that they are governed by federal law \u2013 not state law \u2013 and have argued in court that it would be impractical and unduly burdensome to geo-fence individual states. On that basis, the stakes are arguably higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
People\u2019s concerns about integrity risks considering baseball\u2019s history with gambling, and the fuzzy area between prediction markets and gambling, is a legitimate one.<\/p>\n
MLB Season Opens This Week<\/h2>\n
\u201cThe reaction of \u2018How could leagues be partnering with platforms offering what is effectively sports betting without a license?\u2019 is understandable,\u201d said Mishkin. \u201cBecause even though the platforms at issue here are not unregulated, they are operating outside of the regulatory framework that sports leagues and teams worked hard to help shape \u2013 a dynamic which, on its face, raises concerns.<\/p>\n
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But if leagues can effectively harness their leverage to secure contractual commitments to help address those concerns, and shape new federal regulations that would govern sports prediction markets \u2013 perhaps even in ways that are more robust and effective than what\u2019s available under individual state laws \u2013 there could be an opportunity here to meaningfully improve the overall U.S. sports betting regulatory framework.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
- MLB latest pro sports league to enter the prediction market space<\/b><\/li>\n