National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell has ruled out the league entering into the prediction markets space for foreseeable future.
Speaking during Genius Sports’ Investor Day on 3 December, Goodell cited the ongoing legal uncertainty surrounding prediction markets as a reason for the league taking a wait-and-see approach.
In comparison, the National Hockey League (NHL) has already ventured into the vertical, securing multi-year partnerships with both Kalshi and Polymarket in October.
Last month, a Nevada judge dissolved the temporary injunction he had previously granted Kalshi to continue trading in the state, on the grounds event contracts are sports wagers and that “everyone who sees them knows it”.
Kalshi has also launched a lawsuit against the New York State Gaming Commission, challenging the cease-and-desist order issued by the Empire State regulator.
In the past month, regulators in Maryland and Massachusetts have likewise warned operators against offering prediction market products in each state.
While expressing a desire to be a first mover in a market when the opportunity presents itself, Goodell suggested prediction markets currently offer too much risk to the NFL brand.
He said: “For us, [prediction markets is] not something we’re about to enter into. We are going to see how things play out, from a regulatory standpoint. There are a lot of legal challenges going on right now.
“We’d like to be first in the market in a lot of things, but in a lot of things we’re willing to say, ‘we’re going to let this play out. We’re going to decide, is this something we want to do?’
“The risk to the brand is something we take very seriously, and we won’t risk that brand in something until we feel confident that we can do it, and if we see it play out in a way that works for us, whether that’s private equity and ownership of the NFL and our teams, or whether it’s technology issues in sports betting and/or the prediction markets, that’s how we’re going to play.”
Major sportsbooks have made their moves towards prediction markets in recent weeks.
FanDuel and DraftKings are launching their respective offerings in the form of FanDuel Predicts and DraftKings Predictions, prompting their departures from the American Gaming Association.
Fanatics has followed suit by announcing the rollout of its Fanatics Markets product, in collaboration with Crypto.com.
Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke noted that while the regulatory landscape for prediction markets is currently precarious, previous experience with other markets suggests the vertical may normalise in the near future.
He said: “That space is evolving very, very rapidly but I think it’s fair to say the regulation is not clear. So, I think it makes it very difficult for the leagues to engage in that without that regulatory framework.
“What we learned from what’s happened with DFS back in 2017 is that this will eventually normalise. Regulation will come in and ultimately that will come through partnerships with the NFL, partnerships with the regulators to build that trusted ecosystem and to create the guardrails which ultimately protects the integrity of the sport and protects the consumer.
“With the opportunities that this new evolution and this increasing TAM presents, Genius is very well placed to take advantage of it.”
The post NFL commissioner: Prediction markets is “not something we’re about to enter into” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Roger Goodell highlights the legal uncertainties around the rapidly growing vertical, with the league opting for a wait-and-see approach
The post NFL commissioner: Prediction markets is “not something we’re about to enter into” first appeared on EGR Intel.