Gate News reports that on March 20, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced a multi-year partnership with prediction market platform Polymarket and simultaneously signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The total value of the agreement could reach up to $300 million and is seen as a significant signal that sports leagues are officially supporting the prediction market industry amid federal and state regulatory disagreements.
Under the agreement, both parties will establish data sharing and market integrity mechanisms, focusing on transparency and compliance related to event-based trading. MLB Chairman Rob Manfred and CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam will jointly promote this framework, strengthening the role of federal derivatives regulation in prediction markets. This move comes as multiple U.S. states are taking legal action against similar platforms, with regulatory jurisdiction issues continuing to intensify.
Previously, Arizona filed criminal charges against Kalshi, claiming that its sports event contracts constituted unlicensed gambling. Meanwhile, several state regulators have issued restrictions, putting compliance pressure on the prediction market industry. The CFTC emphasizes that these products should fall under federal derivatives law regulation rather than state gambling laws.
On the business side, Polymarket will gain official MLB data and branding rights and will be promoted through league digital channels. The platform operates on the Polygon network and uses stablecoin settlement mechanisms. Its trading volume reached hundreds of billions of dollars by 2025, indicating strong market demand.
Notably, the agreement includes a termination clause: if a court ultimately rules that prediction markets violate state laws, the partnership will automatically end. This arrangement reflects the ongoing regulatory uncertainty in the industry. Currently, the U.S. Congress is also advancing related legislation, with some proposals aiming to restrict sports event contracts or even ban election prediction markets altogether.
As federal and state judicial disagreements widen, industry experts generally expect these cases may eventually reach the Supreme Court for resolution. MLB’s announcement is seen as a landmark event marking the integration of traditional sports with on-chain prediction markets and could accelerate the institutionalization of this sector.
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