Polymarket pulled the plug on a prediction-market foul.
The thriving company withdrew a market on whether Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play Week 1 against the Broncos.
The company self-certified the market on Aug. 25 titled, “Will Patrick Mahomes participate in the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 1 regular-season game?”
A Polymarket source told ESPN that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission asked it and other prediction-market operators to remove contracts involving NFL players’ availability.
It withdrew the market immediately and remains in discussions with the CFTC over its offerings.
The NFL has separately urged the CFTC to prohibit markets tied to player injuries, officiating or events that could be manipulated.
Although Mahomes has fully participated in training camp without limitations, the league considers the market injury-related because he is returning from a season-ending knee injury he suffered last year. The concern is focused around those with inside access to Mahomes’ plans potentially trading on — or selling — information unavailable to the public.
“We hope to get to the place where we have a very efficient system someday if they’re legalized in that same way that we can protect the integrity of the competition perfectly,” NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller told ESPN.
Despite the CFTC’s reported intervention, Kalshi was still offering a market Friday on whether Mahomes will start Kansas City’s season opener against Denver, along with other contracts involving injured players’ returns.
Despite other major sports leagues such as the MLB and NHL partnering with prediction market platforms, the NFL is not currently considering a commercial relationship.
The league announced new partnerships with sportsbooks DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics last week.
This dispute surfaced amid the mounting legal scrutiny prediction markets face over whether sports contracts constitute gambling or financial products.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday sided with Nevada regulators, rejecting Kalshi’s request to resume offering sports and political markets without obtaining a state gambling license.
