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The National Football League (NFL) is intensifying its push against what it terms objectionable bets offered on prediction markets. NFL Chief Compliance Officer Sabrina Perel sent a follow-up letter to prediction market operators on September 4, just days before the regular season kicks off, reiterating the league’s stance against objectionable bets.
“It is deeply concerning that bets within the objectionable categories that we identified months ago have been and continue to be listed as contracts on exchanges,” Perel wrote.
What are objectionable bets?
Objectionable bets, a term coined by the NFL, refer to bets that threaten the integrity of games, exploit non-public information, or are easily manipulated. They fall under four categories:
- Inherently Objectionable Bets – Bets that cover negative, harmful, or sensitive events like player injuries, player misconduct, and fan safety.
- Bets Easily Manipulated by Individuals – Highly specific micro-bets where outcomes can be determined by a single athlete or other individual, such as a kicker missing a field goal.
- Bets with Pre-Determined Outcomes Based on Insider Information – Bets based on decisions made behind closed doors with information not available to the public, such as starting lineups and player signings.
- Officiating-Related Bets – Bets based on the actions of referees and league officials, such as the timing, number, and types of penalties.
The NFL started cautioning prediction markets against bets of this nature in March 2026. Notably, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed rulemaking in June 2026 requires prediction markets to consult sports leagues before listing event contracts.
However, prediction markets, including Kalshi and Polymarket, have ignored this requirement and offered event contracts that fall under objectionable bets. Notably, both platforms self-certified contracts based on player participation, which mostly focus on player injuries. However, the prediction markets pulled the event contracts, although the CFTC’s filing site shows that Polymarket’s starter designation contracts are still certified.
“Continuing to list these objectionable contracts threatens the underlying integrity of our games and creates significant risks for our players, coaches, and officials, as well as for those participating on your exchanges. It is imperative that DCMs take further action to remove any objectionable bets,” Perel wrote.
NFL avoids deals with prediction markets
Notably, the NFL has restricted any official sponsorships, licensing deals, or partnerships with prediction markets, unlike other leagues like Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL).
In contrast, the NFL has strengthened previous partnerships with sportsbooks and created new ones. Notably, the league recently announced exclusive, multi-year commercial partnerships with various sportsbooks, including DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics. Interestingly, the NFL said in its announcement that it would work with its partner sportsbooks to “prohibit wagers the league finds objectionable, including bets tied to officiating and injuries, along with those that can be known in advance or easily manipulated by a single person.”
