Major League Baseball Inks First-Of-Its-Kind Polymarket Deal, Signs CFTC Integrity Pact

Major League Baseball on Thursday signed an exclusive multi-year deal making Polymarket its official prediction market partner. The deal gives Polymarket sole rights to use MLB trademarks and logos, with promotional space on the league’s website and at games. Front Office Sports reported the agreement may be worth between $150 million and $300 million over three years, though financial terms were not officially disclosed. MLB And CFTC Make History MLB also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the first between the federal regulator and any professional sports league. The MOU covers information sharing, fraud prevention and game integrity monitoring. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, who said last week that the CFTC does not “discriminate between sports and politics and corn,” said the agreement adds “additional tools” to protect prediction markets from manipulation. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred called the agreements “imperative steps in proactively managing the new and rapidly growing prediction market space.” The league said it will work with Polymarket to restrict contracts that present integrity risks, including individual pitches, manager decisions and umpire performance. The Tradeable Angle The deal lands two days after Arizona’s attorney general filed 20 criminal charges against Kalshi, accusing it of running an illegal gambling operation. MLB’s move signals that major leagues are choosing partnership over prohibition. The NHL, MLS and UFC have already signed prediction market deals, with Polymarket a partner in all three. The NFL, NBA, PGA Tour and NCAA remain holdouts. Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ:SRAD), MLB’s exclusive global data distributor, said it sees “a significant opportunity to monetize our products and services in prediction markets.” Sportradar is not bound by Polymarket’s exclusivity and can still sell MLB data to rival platforms and sportsbooks. Polymarket is backed by Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE), the NYSE’s parent company. Both Polymarket and Kalshi are reportedly raising at $20 billion valuations. For traditional sportsbooks, it’s another blow. Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT) has lost over half its value in the past year. DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) has similarly struggled. Every new league deal makes the competitive moat wider. Image: IMAGN