Major League Baseball is considering a potential partnership with prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi, Commissioner Rob Manfred said on Thursday, as the league looks to bolster its ability to monitor betting activity and protect the integrity of the game.
MLB owners were briefed last week at their quarterly meetings on the possibility of working with prediction markets, which are federally regulated and differ from traditional sports betting.
A partnership could give the league access to betting data similar to that obtained through its existing relationships with sportsbooks, data that helped identify irregular wagering patterns tied to two Cleveland Guardians pitchers who now face federal charges.
The discussion comes as Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and starter Luis Ortiz are accused in court filings of involvement in an alleged pitch-rigging scheme. Prosecutors say bettors placed wagers on Clase to intentionally throw a ball on the first pitch of an inning, with filings alleging his involvement dated back to 2023 and spanned at least 48 games over two seasons.
“We thought it was important for the owners to be updated on why prediction markets are different than sports betting — why we might want to consider being in business with prediction markets in an effort to protect our integrity, to get the kind of protections we need,” Manfred said.
“The regulatory framework, very different. Obviously state by state on the sports betting side, federal on the other,” he said.
Unlike sports betting, which is regulated on a state-by-state basis, prediction markets fall under federal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Currently, the National Hockey League and Ultimate Fighting Championship are the only major professional sports organizations partnering with Polymarket and Kalshi.
However, prediction markets have faced regulatory scrutiny. Earlier this month, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert warning that prediction markets could amount to “unregulated gambling” and that contracts tied to sports events may violate state law and pose significant financial risks to users.
“There’s obviously an opportunity to work with the markets themselves to get the kind of integrity protections you want,” Manfred said.
Asked why MLB or its integrity monitoring partners did not flag the alleged pitch-rigging activity sooner, Manfred said: “Sometimes it takes time for those patterns to become clear.”
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/02/17/117627-mlb-considers-partnership-with-prediction-markets-amid-integrity-concerns
