CFTC and NHL sign integrity MOU for hockey event contracts
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Hockey League signed a memorandum of understanding on May 21 establishing integrity standards for hockey event contracts on CFTC-regulated exchanges. The agreement designates representatives from each organization for regular communication and creates a two-way information-sharing framework for data tied to hockey outcomes. The deal follows a similar CFTC-MLB arrangement in March and comes as Kalshi and Polymarket both list NHL event contracts. The 2026-27 NHL season begins in September. The MOU arrives alongside other federal regulatory moves in the prediction markets space — SEC Commissioner Atkins paused event contract ETFs on May 22, and the CFTC continues parallel litigation against state-level authorities pursuing prediction market platforms.
Kalshi and Polymarket must now show the CFTC they can operate NHL contracts under active league surveillance, or risk losing the hockey vertical entirely if the regulator demands pre-season compliance demonstrations before September.
Brings the running tally of CFTC-sports league integrity MOUs to two after MLB in March, as the regulator races to build league-by-league surveillance frameworks before the September NHL season kickoff and concurrent Minnesota ban litigation reaches its August 1 deadline.