The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has reportedly asked prediction markets operator Kalshi to stop implying a relationship with the organisation, warning that its current phrasing could mislead the public and damage the NCAA’s reputation.
In a letter sent on 30 October, shared with SiGMA News, Scott Bearby, the NCAA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, said it had come to their attention that Kalshi’s platform included the phrase “Outcome verified from NCAA”, a phrase hyperlinked to NCAA.com.
“The NCAA is concerned that this language will imply to the consuming public that the NCAA has some relationship with Kalshi which involves the NCAA ‘verifying’ or ‘approving’ data for Kalshi,” Bearby wrote. “Given the NCAA’s stance on sports betting, this could cause significant harm to the value and goodwill of the NCAA brand.”
NCAA requests language change and disclaimer
The NCAA urged Kalshi to revise the language to something “which clearly reflects the reality of the relationship,” suggesting “Outcome sourced from NCAA.com” as an alternative. It also requested that Kalshi add a disclaimer to all NCAA-related content clarifying that there is no affiliation between the two entities.
A Kalshi spokesperson told SiGMA News that the company values the NCAA’s feedback and is working to adjust the language on its college sports markets accordingly.
Kalshi’s official league partnerships don’t include the NCAA
Unlike the NCAA, the National Hockey League (NHL) has an official partnership with Kalshi and its rival Polymarket. The deal, announced in October 2025, gives both firms rights to access official NHL data and use league marks and logos on their prediction market platforms.
Kalshi also has a media-based affiliation with NFL on FOX, but its record with other leagues has been mixed. Earlier this year, it faced backlash for using National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players Association imagery without consent. Both organisations confirmed to Sportico that they have no business relationship with Kalshi.
College sports prop bets raise integrity concerns
Kalshi began offering college sports event contracts during March Madness 2025, later expanding its markets. Some of its pro sports offerings function similarly to prop bets, which have drawn increasing scrutiny across US leagues amid several betting integrity investigations.
On gambling allegations, a Kalshi spokesperson told SiGMA News, “Kalshi works like the stock market instead of like a casino. In casinos, the house always wins. With Kalshi, there is no house. We don’t win when our customers lose.”
While the NCAA is moving toward allowing athletes to bet on professional sports, President Charlie Baker continues to oppose college player prop bets, citing integrity and harassment risks.
Bearby pressed Kalshi to clarify whether it intends to offer such markets: “Many state legislators and gaming authorities have agreed with the NCAA’s stance that prop betting markets heighten the risk of integrity and harassment concerns. Is Kalshi committed to forbidding similar predictive markets on their platforms?”
Kalshi says it will address NCAA’s integrity questions
The NCAA also asked Kalshi to confirm whether it would:
- Cooperate with NCAA integrity or prohibited customer investigations;
- Provide data and geolocation information on potential violations;
- Monitor and report integrity issues or prohibited customers to the NCAA.
In response, as reported by SBC Americas, a Kalshi spokesperson emphasised the platform’s compliance framework: “Kalshi has robust market integrity provisions required by our status as a federally licensed financial exchange. We are currently reviewing and addressing their additional requests.”
The exchange currently partners with IC360, an integrity monitoring firm, as part of its compliance and reporting process.
In another development, the NCAA’s policy allowing college athletes and athletic department staff to wager on professional sports was delayed, from 1 November to 22 November. This comes amid US basketball being rocked by sports betting scandals, from the NBA’s high-profile indictments to the NCAA’s 13 ongoing investigations into six college programmes, cases that have reignited urgent debate about gambling integrity in American sports.
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