The National Football League has outlined its views to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on how sports-related prediction markets should be regulated as they continue to experience significant growth, according to a letter seen by CNBC.
Recommendations include banning certain event contracts and raising age requirements for participation.
NFL Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy Brendon Plack wrote a letter to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig on Friday, saying the regulator is currently in the process of developing rules for the market. Plack said many of the recommendations are to protect the league’s ethics.
“These proposals are intended to (i) protect the integrity of the sporting events to which prediction contracts relate and (ii) protect participants in these prediction markets from fraudulent or manipulative conduct,” he wrote.
The NFL wants to ban a number of contracts deemed to be easily manipulated by certain people, such as when a kicker misses a field goal or when a quarterback’s first pass is incomplete. The NFL said there should also be restrictions on deals that are “known in advance,” such as the first play of a game, or deals that are “inherently objectionable,” such as an injury.
Plack also wrote that the league is seeking “mention” agreements with broadcasters. The deal also prohibits participants from putting money into various words that individuals are expected to say on television.
The NFL also called for raising the age requirement for participants in sports-related prediction markets to 21 years old. This falls in line with the general age requirements for online sports betting, although prediction markets now allow users from the age of 18 to trade on the platform.
Plack consistently points to state-level gambling regulations as a model to follow when developing guardrails for sports-related prediction market contracts. He recommends that the National Futures Association enter into agreements with state gaming regulators to share data and improve enforcement mechanisms to catch individuals who should not be allowed to trade.
Michael Selig, President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, speaks during a hearing of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee on November 19, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
But Selig views these markets, including sports-related markets, as different from gambling. He reiterated to Axios this week that the sportsbook and these deals are “two different things.”
The CFTC has sued several states over legal interference with prediction market platforms. While states argue that their authority to regulate sports betting means they have jurisdiction over these platforms, the commission argues that these agreements are swaps and are therefore subject to regulatory authority.
Other NFL recommendations include asking the CFTC to create its own certification process for contracts related to individual player performance or those that are susceptible to manipulation. Currently, most event contracts are approved through a self-certification process by prediction market platforms.
Public sector regulators are not the only ones struggling with the emergence of these platforms. sportsbook company draft kings and FanDuel’s parent flutter The company’s stock has languished over the past year even as the prediction market’s sports business has grown.
Plack also wrote that the league believes prediction market platforms should enter into agreements with sports governing bodies to create and enforce lists of prohibited participants in sporting event contracts, including league employees, to minimize the potential for insider trading.
The league also believes that to protect consumers, platforms should be required to prohibit margin trading, a dangerous practice in which borrowed money is traded. “As some have suggested, allowing event contracts that are not fully collateralized, particularly in relation to the sports market, could amplify the risk of addictive behavior and loss,” Plack wrote.
— CNBC’s Contessa Brewer, Jessica Golden and Ananya Chetia contributed reporting
