NHL Ups the Ante by Teaming With Kalshi, Polymarket in Sports Betting

The National Hockey League has a breakaway with prediction markets. 

In a first for a US sports league, Kalshi and Polymarket can now use the NHL’s trademarks, including the terms “NHL” and “Stanley Cup,” as well as team names. Kalshi has skated around licensing restrictions in the past by instead using generic terms like “pro hockey tournament.”

The NHL has deals with sportsbooks including DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM, but its tie-up with Kalshi and Polymarket marks its first time entering the rink with prediction markets. The key difference, according to Kalshi: Gamblers bet against other users on prediction markets but against the bookie’s odds on sportsbooks. Critics say, “Tomayto, tomahto.”

Crystal Betting Ball

Prediction markets allow users to bet on the outcomes of events ranging from which team will win a particular game to when the government shutdown will end. Polymarket traders have bet more than $4 million on whether the US government will confirm the existence of aliens (there’s a 4% chance, apparently). 

Trading volume on Polymarket and Kalshi hit record highs last week, surpassing $2 billion for the first time and beating previous highs from last year’s presidential election. Sports betting is the biggest money-mover for both platforms, racking up $415 million in trades on Polymarket and $867 million on Kalshi, which was boosted by a recent partnership with Robinhood.

But it has been a bumpy road:

• Since they’re similar to futures markets, platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. However, state officials and Native American tribes are suing the platforms, alleging they are illegal sports-betting operators. 
• Polymarket backed out of the US in 2022 after a settlement with the CFTC but is plotting its re-entry. It acquired a derivatives exchange called QCX earlier this year, which gives the kicked-out company an avenue for returning to the states. 

Join ’Em to Beat ’Em: While regulators draw up the rulebook for prediction markets, sportsbooks are also getting in on the game. DraftKings said Tuesday it bought Railbird Technologies, which owns a CFTC-licensed event contracts exchange. The sportsbook plans to launch its “DraftKings Predictions” mobile app within months, marking its first push into prediction markets. But this won’t bench Polymarket, which said Tuesday it’ll clear trades for DraftKings’ new biz. Rival FanDuel, meanwhile, teamed up with derivatives exchange CME Group in August, with a plan to start offering event contracts later this year.