Major League Baseball may soon dip its toes in the prediction market business.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday during owners’ meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. that the league could soon consider partnering with platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which have become extremely popular, albeit controversial, in recent years.
Manfred told the room that working with prediction market companies could help ensure the “integrity” of the game.
“We thought it was important for the owners to be updated on why prediction markets are different than sports betting — why we might want to consider being in business with prediction markets in an effort to protect our integrity to get the kind of protections we need,” Manfred said.
Regulations around legal sports betting, which is handled state by state, and prediction markets, which are federally regulated, Manfred noted, are “very different,” leaving a sort of grey area for sports leagues.
MLB has long been in bed with the sports betting industry, having begun partnering with such companies in 2018.
Sports leagues have been slow to associate with prediction markets, but it appears they are starting to change tune.
In October, the NHL became the first major sports league to get into business with prediction markets, signing deals with both Polymarket and Kalshi.
A month later, UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, announced a partnership with Polymarket.
The MLS followed the NHL and UFC’s lead last month, reaching a deal with Polymarket.
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The NBA hasn’t reached any sort of deal with prediction markets, though Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo announced an ownership stake in Kalshi earlier this month
During All-Star Weekend, Kalshi founders, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, and Polymarket founder, Shayne Coplan, will speak during the league’s technology summit, which may signal the coming acceptance of prediction markets.
Not everyone has been as quick to associate with the emerging field.
The NFL doesn’t appear ready just yet.
“On the predictive markets, for us, that’s not something we’re about to enter into,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in December. “We are going to see how things play out, both from a regulatory standpoint. … There are a lot of legal challenges going on right now.”
The league later banned prediction markets from advertising during Super Bowl 2026.
Manfred’s comments come as MLB deals with the aftermath of Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz facing federal charges for an alleged pitch-rigging scheme that rocked the sport last season.
