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Days after the NBA announced it was partnering with multiple prediction markets, the WNBA tells Front Office Sports it’s open to doing business with the controversial industry.
“The deals announced on Monday address critical integrity protections for both the NBA and WNBA. With those protections in place, the WNBA is now assessing the commercial opportunity,” a league spokesperson tells FOS.
The integrity protections being referenced include prohibitions on event contracts tied to player props like who will score the first basket of a game and parlays built around statistical unders for players expected to see limited playing time. Those mirror restrictions the NBA placed on its sportsbook partners earlier this month.
It’s not clear if and when the WNBA will partner with a prediction market, but a source familiar with the league’s thinking tells FOS the WNBA “continues to evaluate the category” and will make a decision “at the appropriate time.”
FOS reported the WNBA was not automatically included in the NBA’s prediction-market deals with Kalshi and Polymarket, and that platforms will have to reach separate direct deals for rights and intellectual property.
Kalshi is interested in getting into business with the WNBA, a source familiar with the matter tells FOS, although a representative for the company declined to comment when asked if the two have discussed a deal. It wasn’t clear which other platforms may be eyeing the league. A representative for Fanatics declined to comment, and representatives for Polymarket and Novig did not respond to requests for comment.
On Monday, the NBA named Kalshi and Polymarket its “preferred prediction market partners,” giving the companies the right to use the league’s IP in their app and marketing. As part of the deal, they will get league data from Sportradar, the league’s “official data distribution partner.” The league has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal regulator that oversees the prediction-market industry, an agreement that stipulates the two sides will share information in order to ensure the integrity of NBA-related markets.
DraftKings, which is already one of the NBA’s official sports betting partners, is expanding its agreement with the NBA to “include prediction markets and nationwide promotion.” It is not a “preferred prediction market partner” like Kalshi and Polymarket. Other companies, like Novig and FanDuel, are expected to become authorized prediction-market partners of the NBA in short order.
Players Are an ‘Essential Part of These Conversations’
The NBA owns 42% of the WNBA and the two leagues operate out of the same New York office. However, the NBA’s partnerships don’t automatically involve the WNBA and vice versa.
A prime example came in 2024, when the NBA signed a $77 billion media rights deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon that included the WNBA. The WNBA would go on to also extend its media deals with other partners, including CBS and Scripps Sports.
The WNBA’s two primary sportsbook partners are the same as the NBA’s: DraftKings and FanDuel. The league is also partnered with a number of “authorized gaming operators,” including Fanatics Sportsbook, BetMGM, and Bet365.
The WNBA’s willingness to partner with prediction markets comes after Polymarket’s international exchange offered markets on whether a dildo would be thrown onto the court for a short stretch in the summer of 2025. Polymarket has since launched a U.S. platform that is regulated by the CFTC, which has never offered dildo markets.
Meanwhile, many players have expressed concern about the vitriol they’ve received from sports bettors.
In July, Aces star Chelsea Gray exposed a racist message she received from a fan whose Instagram bio included “sports betting.” Veterans including Dearica Hamby, Courtney Williams, and Natasha Cloud have all publicly expressed receiving threats from sports bettors online.
In a statement to FOS, WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said she would like the union to be informed of any conversations the league may have with prediction markets:
“We would hope the WNBA engages in meaningful dialogue with the union before moving forward in this direction. The players are central stakeholders in the game, and their voices and perspectives should be an essential part of these conversations.”
The 2026 WNBA season concludes Saturday as the Dream and Valkyries face off in San Francisco for Game 7 of the Finals.
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