Polymarket the Official Partner of NY Rangers
Crypto prediction market platform Polymarket has secured a partnership with the New York Rangers.
Polymarket will be the Presenting Partner of “In-Game Polls,” have a dedicated post-game segment, and produce branded commercials. Madison Square Garden will feature Polymarket out-of-home signage boards outside of the stadium.
“This is a landmark partnership for the Rangers in this new and exciting category, and Polymarket is the perfect fit as one of the most reliable and forward-thinking prediction market operators,” said Jamaal Lesane, Chief Operating Officer, MSG Sports. “Polymarket becomes not just an Official Partner of the Rangers, but they will also be involved across digital channels, fan activations and promotions at Rangers games.”
As individual teams partner with prediction markets, major leagues remain wary about such partnerships.
Sports leagues remain skeptical
Some sports leagues have been willing to partner with prediction markets. The UFC has partnered with Polymarket, and both Kalshi and Polymarket have partnered with the NHL.
However, the NFL, NBA, and MLB have raised concerns about sports integrity. Licensed sportsbooks have monitoring in place specifically for issues like match fixing and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements to catch players or league employees trying to bet.
The CFTC regulates Kalshi and Polymarket U.S., so there are anti-fraud protocols in place. Kalshi has also partnered with IC360, which provides integrity monitoring for many sportsbooks. Still, the NFL needs to be convinced that Kalshi can catch and report suspicious betting activity like sportsbooks did in revealing the NBA insider trading scandals.
Continued mainstreaming of prediction markets
The 2024 presidential election may have been the great mainstreaming event for the prediction market industry. However, there have been weeks when sports contracts have comprised over 90% of Kalshi’s trade volume. They’re popular ways to gamble on sports, especially in states where sports betting remains illegal.
Partnerships with sports leagues lend credibility to sports contracts at a time when the prediction market industry and sports betting industries are fighting in court over them. The more ingrained sports contracts are in portfolios and company balance sheets, the more difficult they will be to unwind.
Regardless of the legal challenges, the prediction market industry is moving at full speed to raise its sports contracts to the level of seriousness of its economic or political contracts.