The National Football League has called on the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to significantly strengthen its proposed safeguards for sports prediction markets, arguing existing draft rules “fall significantly short” of protecting sporting events, market participants, and fans. The July 27 letter to CFTC Chair Michael Selig comes as trading volumes across major prediction platforms surged to an all-time high of $50.59 billion in July, driven largely by FIFA World Cup contracts.
The NFL’s demands include a minimum trading age of 21, centralized self‑exclusion systems, mandatory lists of insiders (players, coaches, officials, medical staff), and explicit restrictions on the misuse of confidential information obtained through league relationships. The league also wants the CFTC to prohibit contracts that can be easily influenced by a single person or whose outcomes may be privately known before settlement—citing roster decisions, coaching choices, and officiating judgments as examples.
The CFTC’s proposed framework already distinguishes between different types of sports products, generally permitting contracts tied to final scores, standings, and statistics while signaling that injury‑based or officiating‑specific contracts would likely be against public interest. However, the NFL objects to the review timetable: under current rules, exchanges can list a contract the next business day after filing, with the CFTC required to begin a public‑interest review within ten days after listing—not before trading starts. The league argues manipulation risks may not surface within that window.
The record $50.59 billion monthly volume in July—up 7.8% from June’s revised $46.95 billion—was dominated by Kalshi’s $37.7 billion (74.5% of the total) and Polymarket’s combined $12.9 billion. Polymarket US saw a 54% monthly surge to $5 billion after removing its waitlist, while the international platform dipped 26% to $7.9 billion. The FIFA World Cup, which ran from June 11 to July 19, drove billions in contract trading, with Kalshi’s Spain‑Argentina final market generating about $1.9 billion and Polymarket’s winner market roughly $4 billion.
Yet the volume boom is unfolding amid legal fights. Over a dozen state regulators have accused Kalshi and Polymarket of operating unlicensed gambling platforms through sports contracts, while the CFTC and the companies argue federal oversight preempts state jurisdiction. A Minnesota federal judge temporarily blocked state enforcement, but New York filed suit against Kalshi on July 31. The NFL’s letter adds pressure for tighter federal controls, even as other leagues like MLB and the NHL have formed commercial partnerships with prediction market platforms.
The public comment period on the proposed CFTC rule amendments closed on July 27, and the commission has not set a final rule deadline. The outcome will determine whether the NFL’s requested age limits, insider lists, consumer controls, and expanded review powers become mandatory or remain voluntary platform‑level protections.
