MLB and players union propose joint lobbying effort to ban prop bets and event contracts
Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) are seeking a joint lobbying effort to ban proposition bets and event contracts centered on individual player performance, according to the union's latest labor counter-offer. The gambling-related provision, reported by the New York Times, would align both MLB and its players union against certain betting products. The proposal came during ongoing labor negotiations, which also addressed free-agent contract limits. The MLBPA proposal would extend to event contracts at prediction markets focused on individual player outcomes, according to ESPN.
Any successful MLB-MLBPA lobbying ban would force CFTC-registered platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket to delist or never launch MLB player-focused contracts, even where federal rules permit them.
The MLB-MLBPA lobbying push joins the NFL, NHL, and NCAA in opposing CFTC-regulated event contracts on player outcomes, even as the agency's newly proposed rules explicitly allow sports bets — setting up a direct collision between federal permission and league prohibition.