NFL urges courts to let states regulate prediction markets

The NFL is asking courts to allow states to regulate prediction markets as sports gambling, adding its voice to the dispute over whether federal commodities law takes precedence over state betting rules. According to Fox News, the league filed an amicus brief on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, as New Jersey challenges a federal appeals court ruling favorable to Kalshi.

The league wants the Supreme Court to move quickly. Its filing projected billions of dollars in NFL wagers through prediction markets each season and argued that prolonged uncertainty increases risks to consumers and game integrity. An NFL source told Fox News Digital that billions of dollars in such wagers had already been placed this season.

Integrity concerns and a disputed federal response

Before the season began, the NFL told prediction-market operators it objected to contracts involving coaching decisions, officiating decisions, injuries and other outcomes potentially influenced by inside information. In its brief, the league criticized the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for not addressing contracts it had flagged months earlier, including offerings still listed by Kalshi, according to Fox News.

The CFTC disputed that account of its engagement. Brooke Nethercott, the agency’s public affairs director, told Fox News Digital that the NFL had declined a memorandum of understanding intended to facilitate cooperation and information sharing. An unnamed CFTC source also accused the league of seeking influence over its regulator. An NFL source countered that the dispute concerned consumer protection and game integrity, while questioning whether the commission had sufficient staffing and resources to oversee sports betting.

Operators defend federal oversight

Kalshi said the NFL had been unwilling to share data and collaborate, contrasting that position with its partnerships involving MLB, NHL, USTA and others. The company said the CFTC was actively overseeing sports-related contracts and that ongoing rulemaking addressed many of the league’s concerns. Polymarket separately told Fox News Digital that it was using market-surveillance tools and working with the CFTC, SEC and other professional leagues, arguing for a unified federal framework rather than separate state regimes.

The NFL has official online sportsbook agreements but has not partnered with prediction markets, according to Fox News. An unnamed CFTC source nevertheless said senior NFL staff had indicated just weeks earlier that commercial agreements with several operators were close. The jurisdictional dispute also involves different access thresholds: prediction markets admit users 18 and older, while online sportsbooks require users to be 21 and older.

What it means for prediction markets

• Jurisdiction remains the central issue. New Jersey’s challenge concerns whether federal commodities law overrides state gambling regulation; the NFL’s brief supports state oversight.
• Contract design is under scrutiny. The league’s objections specifically target outcomes involving injuries, coaching, officiating and potential inside information—not merely game results.
• Cooperation is contested. The NFL, CFTC and operators offer differing accounts of their integrity efforts, making regulatory coordination a separate issue from commercial partnerships.
• Urgency is not a court timetable. The NFL is pressing for prompt Supreme Court action, but the supplied reporting identifies no date for a decision.