NCAA Challenges Prediction Market Kalshi Over Integrity and Affiliation Claims

Demands to Stop Implied Affiliation

The central issue raised by the NCAA is Kalshi’s past use of specific language that could confuse the public about the two organizations’ relationship.

In the letter, dated October 30, Scott Bearby, NCAA Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, asked Kalshi to immediately cease suggesting a close connection with the college sports governing body. The NCAA specifically took issue with Kalshi using the phrase “Outcome verified from NCAA” alongside a hyperlink to NCAA.COM.

The NCAA stated this language suggests to the public that the association has a role in “verifying” or “approving” datafor Kalshi. Given the NCAA’s strong public stance against sports betting, the association argued this insinuation could “cause significant harm to the value and goodwill of the NCAA brand.”

The NCAA demanded Kalshi replace the current language with a phrase that “clearly reflects the reality of the relationship,” such as “Outcome sourced from NCAA.COM.” Additionally, the NCAA requested that Kalshi add a disclaimer to all related content clarifying that the prediction market has no affiliation with the organization.

Integrity Questions Raised Over Prop-Style Markets

Beyond brand protection, the NCAA expressed concern over Kalshi’s involvement in offering markets similar to prop bets, which the NCAA strongly opposes due to integrity and harassment risks.

NCAA President Charlie Baker has repeatedly called for a ban on college player prop bets, citing concerns about integrity and athlete harassment. In his letter, Mr. Bearby noted that prop-style betting markets “increase the risk of integrity and harassment concerns.”

The NCAA asked Kalshi directly whether it is committed to prohibiting prop-style prediction markets on its platform. These markets are defined as those based on a segment of a contest or an individual athlete’s performance, rather than on the overall team or contest outcome.

The NCAA also posed a detailed set of questions regarding Kalshi’s internal monitoring and compliance procedures for college markets:

• Proactive Monitoring: What steps does Kalshi take to monitor college sports markets for both integrity concerns and the presence of prohibited customers (such as coaches, officials, or athletes)?
• Prohibited Customers: Who is specifically categorized as a prohibited customer under Kalshi’s current guidelines?
• Full Cooperation: Is Kalshi ready to fully cooperate with NCAA integrity investigations? This cooperation would require the timely and comprehensive delivery of transaction-level data and geolocation requests.
• Reporting Protocol: Will Kalshi promptly report any integrity concerns or attempts by prohibited customers to the NCAA? (Kalshi currently has an existing agreement with the integrity monitoring firm IC360.)

Kalshi Responds to NCAA Feedback

A spokesperson for Kalshi confirmed that the company “values the NCAA’s feedback” and is “working to adapt the language” used on its website concerning college sports markets.

Kalshi emphasized that as a federally licensed financial exchange, it maintains “robust market integrity provisions.”The spokesperson confirmed that Kalshi is “currently reviewing and addressing” the NCAA’s additional demands regarding monitoring and prohibited customer protocols.

Furthermore, Kalshi spokesperson Sara Slane expressed the exchange’s desire to work with leagues like the NCAA, stating, “We want partnership. We want to use official league data, promote integrity, and do what’s best for our consumer.”