Kalshi is adding prediction markets based on individual NBA player performance achievements as soon as today, according to a report from Front Office Sports. The markets, similar to player prop bets at traditional sports betting platforms, will include Over/Unders for points, rebounds, assists, and three-pointers, a source familiar with the matter told FOS.
The NBA markets will be the first player prop trades available at Kalshi since it introduced similar NFL markets this season related to individual players’ touchdowns and passing, rushing, and receiving yards during a game.
As of early Friday afternoon, the new NBA markets had yet to appear on Kalshi. The platform this year began offering NBA game markets for game winners, spreads and totals.
NBA and MLB players have been at the center of recent sports betting scandals
The news of the new Kalshi markets comes shortly after a sports betting scandal rocked the NBA world last month. Six people, including NBA veteran player Terry Rozier and former player and coach Damon Jones, were indicted for a scheme that allegedly included using insider knowledge about lineups and injuries to inform sports bets.
In a separate recent sports betting scandal, two MLB pitchers were federally indicted for a coordinated scheme involving “rigged pitches” and “corrupt sports bettors” placing prop bets on those pitches.
The betting scandals have led to calls for tighter restrictions and limits on certain types of prop bets, with some saying that they are too easy to manipulate. In response, MLB announced this week that it worked with sportsbooks to cap pitch-level prop bets at $200. Yesterday, ESPN reported that the NFL has been working with both regulators and sports betting operators “to limit — and where possible (prohibit) altogether — prop bets in the NFL.”
NBA markets will be limited, robustly monitored
Kalshi confirmed to FOS that it would indeed begin offering NBA player props and that they are aware of the recent controversies.
“It’s going to be limited,” Kalshi spokesperson Sara Slane said about the new NBA markets. “We have robust integrity protections in place.”
Slane said that the scope of the player markets will be narrow, with individual traders being limited to $10,000 per trade. Slane also said that the props will be limited to around 50 players.
Kalshi works with integrity monitor to flag suspicious sports trading activity
Regulated sportsbooks and the leagues work with third-party integrity monitors to flag and investigate any unusual betting activity. This system helps lead to deeper investigations by authorities, like the ones that resulted in federal charges for the MLB and NBA players and coaches.
“The sportsbooks are not liable here — they were watchdogs,” gaming lawyer Daniel Wallach told Barron’s when the NBA scandal first broke last month.
Kalshi works with Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), a leading integrity monitoring company that works with the leagues and with sports gaming operators like Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, Fanatics and Hard Rock Bet.
“We are all over this,” Slane said. “We have 24-hour monitoring.”
In the Barron’s story about the NBA scandal, a Kalshi spokesperson said that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees and regulates prediction markets in the U.S., has had consumer protection regulations for decades. The spokesperson also touted its own internal processes for flagging suspicious trades and said anyone suggesting it doesn’t is attempting to harm Kalshi.
“Kalshi has state-of-the-art surveillance and compliance infrastructure, including suspicious trading detections,” the spokesperson said. “It is a ridiculous and libelous claim to assert that just because Kalshi is not subject to the jurisdiction of state slot machine regulators, we do not have integrity provisions in place to monitor trading. Furthermore, it is clear that insinuation to the contrary is a malicious lie from parties attempting to defend their profits from Kalshi’s disruptive business model.”
Kalshi has stayed away from college player prop markets
In May, a couple months after Kalshi’s partnership with IC360 was announced, the NBA sent a letter to the CFTC detailing its concerns about sports event contracts, including what they saw as a lack of requirements for integrity monitoring and league cooperation.
One area that Kalshi and other CFTC-regulated prediction market platforms have so far avoided is college player prop trading for NCAA football and basketball games. Since last year, the NCAA has been lobbying states and regulated sportsbooks to stop offering college player prop betting, citing player safety concerns and fears of manipulation.
The NCAA issued a statement to ESPN reporter David Purdum in August after online brokerage Robinhood began offering college football prediction markets from Kalshi on its platform. NCAA senior vice president of external affairs Tim Buckley reiterated its player-safety and integrity concerns.
“We will continue to analyze developments of this market and work with industry leaders to help ensure guardrails and regulations to protect NCAA competitions, student-athletes, coaches and officials,” Buckley said.
