The National Basketball Association (NBA), representing 30 teams, is asking regulators in the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for limits and some prohibitions involving prediction market betting. The league fears that the volume of bets and the vast sums at stake invite corruption, are a threat to the sport’s integrity, and tarnish the league’s image. Prediction markets offer betting opportunities on virtually any real world activity.
In April, Dan Spillane, the NBA’s executive vice president and assistant general counsel, wrote an email to the CFTC, requesting, “Markets relating to officiating, injuries, league disciplinary actions, player or team transactions, or fan actions should be prohibited,” according to the Washington Post. Spillane continued, “These markets are readily susceptible to manipulation and/or improper use of confidential information and have a negative effect on perceived game and league integrity.”