The NHL announced this morning that it has signed multiyear agreements with leading prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, making them both “official prediction market partners” of the league.
The deals make the NHL the first major U.S. sports league to enter into a partnership with a prediction market platform.
The agreements, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, give Polymarket and Kalshi, as well as their affiliated brokers and merchants, the rights to use NHL names and logos on their platforms and also gives both platforms access to official NHL data. The partnerships will also give Kalshi and Polymarket a presence during NHL game broadcasts.
“As prediction markets continue to evolve at a rapid pace, partnering with the two market leaders, Kalshi and Polymarket, provides a tremendous opportunity for the broadest fan engagement during the NHL season,” NHL Business president Keith Wachtel said in a press release. “Polymarket and Kalshi are ideal partners as this category continues to grow and expand.”
National Hockey League announces landmark multiyear partnerships with Kalshi and Polymarket. https://t.co/GFbKQcgRiR pic.twitter.com/yVuEwfW5GD
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) October 22, 2025
Prediction platforms can now use league logos and team names
While Polymarket has used team names with their sports prediction markets, Kalshi has been more careful to not infringe on league and team trademarks, instead using just a team’s city and more generic terms for marquee events like the Super Bowl. In NFL markets on Kalshi, you’ll see “New York G vs. Philadelphia” instead of “Giants vs. Eagles,” for example.
In the wake of the NHL announcement, Kalshi posted its Stanley Cup market (which would have previously been listed as something like “Pro Hockey Championship”) at the top of its homepage, complete with the NHL logo. The market also includes a note about the NHL partnership, saying it “marks a breakthrough moment for prediction markets in professional sports.”
In a tweet about the partnership, Kalshi said “A Big 4 four league. A first of its kind partnership. The start of a new era.”
The NHL says both platforms will receive exposure via Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards, the league’s virtual advertisements shown during broadcasts.
CEOs note “milestone” importance of partnership
Kalshi CEO and co-founder Tarek Mansour noted the importance of receiving such acknowledgement from a major sports league. Earlier this year, Kalshi announced partnerships with the Professional Pickleball Association and the Pro Padel League.
“Teaming up with the NHL is an important milestone for Kalshi and the industry at large. To have a league like the NHL embrace Kalshi is a testament to the integrity, safety, and trust with consumers that Kalshi has spent years building during our time pioneering this asset class,” Mansour said in the release. “It should be clear now — prediction markets are here to stay.”
Mansour also took to X to elaborate on the significance of the NHL’s acceptance of this new asset class:
The story of Kalshi has had endless rejection.
Whether it’s the government, media, or Wall St, we have often been perceived as renegades.
Yet, most important things in history were rejected… until they got accepted.
Today, the NHL has accepted prediction markets. https://t.co/iK0J656kSX
— Tarek Mansour (@mansourtarek_) October 22, 2025
The press announcement was a rare release that included quotes from both Mansour and Shayne Coplan, the CEO and founder of Polymarket, who said his platform offers new ways for hockey fans to engage with NHL teams.
“Together, we’re making the game more interactive and connected, and we appreciate the support of the NHL in recognizing the future of fan experiences benefits from engagement with prediction markets,” Coplan said.
Pro sports leagues have shown prediction market reluctance
The NHL partnership lends an added sense of legitimacy to sports prediction markets, which have been facing legal challenges from various state gaming regulators and others for offering what they consider unsanctioned sports betting.
Major sports leagues, which have partnerships with sports betting operators, have been slow to embrace prediction platforms like Kalshi, which has been experiencing record-breaking trading volume in recent months, largely based on growing engagement with their sports event contracts.
The NFL this summer said they were concerned about what they saw as the lack of “certain regulatory requirements,” including consumer safeguards, at prediction market exchanges. The MLB expressed similar concerns earlier this year, sending a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission asking it to “replicate the integrity and consumer protections that exist at the state level.”
Kalshi’s head of corporate development Sara Slane pushed back on the NFL’s concerns via LinkedIn at the time, writing: “Our markets operate under robust federal oversight by the CFTC, with safeguards that include deposit limits, self-exclusion tools, independent compliance monitoring, and real-time market surveillance.”
