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- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said having access to prediction market data can help the league catch insider trading behavior.
- The comment comes after the the NFL filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on Thursday, supporting New Jersey regulators and asserting that sports contracts on prediction markets fall under gambling, not financial swaps, which are regulated at the federal level.
- “Whether it’s called a prediction market, whether it’s sports betting, it’s the same issues for our league, and I think for all the leagues, there’s issues around integrity first and foremost,” he told CNBC.
watch nowVIDEO06:40NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on the 2026 China Games, NBA Europe plans and prediction marketsSquawk Box
The NBA wants access to prediction market data to regulate and detect for insider trading, Commissioner Adam Silver told CNBC on Friday.
“Whether it’s called a prediction market, whether it’s sports betting, it’s the same issues for our league and I think for all the leagues, there’s issues around integrity first and foremost,” Silver told CNBC’s Contessa Brewer in a “Squawk Box” interview. “We want access to that data. We also want control of the market.”
Silver called it “odd behavior” to have contracts related to whether a coach may be fired, for example.
His comments come after the NFL filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on Thursday, which supported New Jersey regulators and asserted that sports contracts on prediction markets fall under gambling and not financial swaps. The latter are regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The brief also cited concerns on market manipulation on contracts related to player injuries or performance.
The NFL has urged the minimum age for traders should be 21 years old, which is the benchmark several states have for sportsbooks. Silver agreed with the age limit but supported federal authority over prediction market platforms instead.
“Frankly, from at least the NBA standpoint, we have roughly 40 different jurisdictions regulating us right now. So to have a consistent policy nationally, I think would be in our best interest,” he said.
The move from the National Football League comes as volumes on NFL prediction market contracts have soared of late, with the season starting a month ago. The brief also arrives after multiple courts have ruled in favor of states overseeing prediction market exchanges instead of the CFTC.
Last week, prediction markets received a favorable court ruling in Illinois that halted the state from implementing its gambling laws on Kalshi and Coinbase event contracts. Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara called the ruling “beautiful” on social media.
Disclosure: Kalshi and CNBC have a commercial relationship that includes a minority investment and customer acquisition.
