In this articleFLUTFLUTFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTThe National Football League outlined to the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission its views on how sports-related prediction markets should be regulated as the industry continues to experience massive growth, according to a letter reviewed by CNBC. Recommendations include banning certain event contracts and raising the age requirement for participation. Senior vice president for government affairs and public policy for the NFL Brendon Plack penned the letter on Friday to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, where regulators are currently in a rulemaking process regarding the markets. Plack said the slew of recommendations are to preserve the ethics of the league. “These suggestions are aimed at (i) protecting the integrity of the sporting events to which the prediction contracts relate, and (ii) protecting participants in these prediction markets from fraudulent or manipulative behavior,” he wrote. The NFL wants a number of contracts they deem to be easily manipulable by a singular person banned, like on if a kicker will miss a field goal or a quarterback’s first pass will be incomplete. Contracts on things that are “knowable in advance” like the first play of the game or trading on “inherently objectionable” events like injuries should also be restricted, the NFL said.Plack also wrote that the league wants “mentions” contracts for broadcasters, where participants put money on different words they think an individual will say on television, prohibited too. The NFL also called for raising the age requirement for participants in sports-related prediction markets to 21 years old. That would align with typical age requirements for online sports betting, but prediction markets currently allow users starting at 18 years old to trade on their platforms. Plack consistently refers to state-level gambling regulations as a model to follow when developing guardrails for sports-related prediction market contracts. He even recommends the National Futures Association enter agreements with state gaming regulatory authorities to share data and improve enforcement mechanisms to catch individuals who shouldn’t be allowed to trade. Michael Selig, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission speaks during a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Nov. 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik | Getty ImagesHowever, Selig views these markets, including the sports-related ones, as different from gambling. He reiterated to Axios this week that sportsbooks and these contracts are “two separate things.” The CFTC has taken several states to court over their legal interventions with prediction market platforms. States argue their power to regulate sports betting means they have jurisdiction over these platforms, while the commission argues these contracts are swaps and thus fall under its regulatory power. Other recommendations from the NFL include a request for the CFTC to …
