MLB Signs Polymarket Deal and CFTC Integrity Agreement

Major League Baseball has named Polymarket its official prediction market exchange partner and has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced both agreements on Thursday, only days before the start of the 2026 season.

The deals place MLB at the center of a growing area that now sits between sports, trading, and regulation. Under the new arrangement, MLB and the CFTC will exchange confidential information to support integrity measures tied to baseball event contracts.

Good to Know

• MLB said Polymarket will receive exclusive marketing rights along with access to league marks, logos, and official league data.
• MLB and Polymarket agreed to restrict markets seen as more open to manipulation, including individual pitches, managerial decisions, and umpire performance.
• The CFTC agreement gives MLB a direct role in integrity discussions around baseball-related prediction markets.

MLB Sets Terms as Prediction Markets Grow

Polymarket becomes the most visible prediction market partner yet for a major United States sports league. Manfred had recently told team owners that a deal with the platform was likely, and the agreement is now in place before Opening Day.

“The new agreements that we formed with Polymarket and the CFTC are imperative steps in proactively managing the new and rapidly growing prediction market space,” Commissioner Manfred said in MLB announcement. “Protecting the integrity of the game on the field is our top priority. By engaging in this community, we are able to work together to create clear boundaries with the goal of mitigating risk while providing fan engagement opportunities.”

A key part of the announcement is the memorandum with the CFTC. Through that framework, MLB gets a formal channel with the federal agency that regulates trading exchanges. MLB and the agency will share information, kept confidential, to support baseball integrity protections as sports event contracts continue to spread.

“The MOU is a collaborative step towards promoting the integrity and resilience of the prediction markets relating to professional baseball,” CFTC chairman Michael S. Selig said. “Through this MOU, the CFTC is well-positioned to add additional tools to protect these markets and its participants from fraud, manipulation, and other abuses. I thank MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred for partnering with the CFTC and taking a leading role in protecting the integrity of these growing markets.”

The agreement with the CFTC also opens the door for MLB and the agency to work with other prediction market platforms. That group includes Kalshi, DraftKings Predictions, and FanDuel Predict, with the aim of getting baseball integrity rules added to rulebooks across the category.

Polymarket also gains a lot from the partnership. The company launched in 2020, then left the United States in 2022 after regulatory issues. After prediction markets took off, Polymarket bought a derivatives exchange and returned to the United States in December 2025. Now the platform gets exclusive MLB marketing rights, along with brand exposure and access to MLB marks and logos. It will also be able to use official league data.

As part of the deal, Polymarket agreed to work with MLB on limiting certain types of markets that carry higher integrity risk. That includes contracts tied to individual pitches, manager choices, and umpire performance.

“Polymarket is about bringing fans closer to the moments that define sports,” said Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket. “By working collaboratively with Major League Baseball and regulators, we can create new ways for fans to engage with the game while protecting the integrity of the sport.”