The National Hockey League (NHL) has signed multi-year licensing agreements with prediction market startups Kalshi and Polymarket, marking the first time a major U.S. professional sports league has authorized such platforms to use its trademarks. This landmark deal, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, aims to expand fan engagement and leverage prediction markets for sports-related forecasting during the NHL season.
NHL Business President Keith Wachtel emphasized the strategic move in a release, stating, "As prediction markets continue to evolve at a rapid pace, partnering with the two market leaders, Kalshi and Polymarket, provides a tremendous opportunity for the broadest fan engagement." He added that both are ideal partners as the category grows. Polymarket celebrated the announcement on social media, highlighting features like no fees and no house limits.
The agreements come amid record-breaking growth in prediction markets, with weekly trading volume surpassing $2 billion for the first time. Sports betting drove $414.7 million in volume last week, outpacing political markets. Polymarket recently reclaimed market leadership from Kalshi after eight weeks, posting $1 billion in weekly volume against Kalshi's $950 million.
Both platforms have secured substantial funding and regulatory clearances. Kalshi raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and Coinbase. Polymarket received a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), valuing it at $9 billion. They also obtained CFTC no-action letters this year, reducing federal enforcement risks. Notably, Polymarket is planning to launch its own native crypto token, likely in 2026, though current probability estimates for a 2025 announcement are low.
Industry experts see this as a credibility boost that could spur further adoption. Ivan Muller, CMO at Dexsport.io, told Decrypt that prediction markets and traditional sportsbooks could complement each other with proper regulation. Jamie Elkaleh of Bitget Wallet noted that official league partnerships may accelerate growth in Q4 by attracting new users and expanding into real-world events like politics and macroeconomics.
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