The National Football League has outlined to the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission its views on how sports-related speculation markets should be regulated as the industry continues to grow exponentially, according to a letter reviewed by CNBC.
Recommendations include banning contracts for certain events and raising the age requirement for participation.
NFL senior vice president of government affairs and public policy Brendon Plack wrote a letter Friday to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, where regulators are currently in the process of making rules about the markets. Plack said many of the recommendations are about maintaining the unit’s morale.
“These proposals are intended to (i) protect the integrity of the sports events with which the betting contracts are associated, and (ii) protect the participants in these betting markets from fraudulent or deceptive behavior,” he wrote.
The NFL wants a number of contracts that it sees as easily manageable by a single player, such as if a kicker misses a field goal or a quarterback’s first pass is incomplete. Contracts for things “known in advance” such as the first play of a game or trades for “unacceptable in nature” events such as injuries should also be limited, the NFL said.
Plack also wrote that the agency wants broadcasters’ “mentioning” contracts, where participants put money on different words they think a person might say on television, also prohibited.
The NFL also called for raising the age requirement for participants in sports-related betting markets to 21 years of age. That would be in line with the standard age requirements for online sports betting, but betting markets currently allow users as young as 18 to trade on their platforms.
Plack consistently refers to state-level gambling laws as a model to follow when creating regulatory frameworks for sports-related prediction market contracts. He even recommends that the National Futures Association form agreements with state gaming authorities to share data and develop enforcement mechanisms to catch people who shouldn’t be allowed to trade.
Michael Selig, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission speaks during a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on November 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
However, Selig considers these markets, including those related to sports, to be different from gambling. He reiterated to Axios this week that sportsbooks and these contracts are “two different things.”
The CFTC has taken several states to court over their legal interference with prediction market platforms. States argue their powers to regulate sports betting mean they have jurisdiction over these platforms, while the commission says these contracts are exchanges and thus fall under its jurisdiction.
Other recommendations from the NFL include a request that the CFTC create a separate certification process for contracts related to individual player performance or that may be susceptible to manipulation. Currently, most event contracts are approved through a self-certification process through prediction market platforms.
Public sector regulators are not the only ones struggling with the arrival of these platforms. Sportsbook companies The Kings Are Not Prepared and parent of FanDuel Flutter have seen their stocks suffer over the past year as the sports betting market business has grown.
Plack also writes that the league believes that prediction market platforms should enter into agreements with sports governing bodies to establish and enforce a list of prohibited participants in sporting event contracts, including league employees to reduce the possibility of insider trading.
The department also believes that platforms should be required to prevent margin trading, a dangerous practice where loans are sold, to protect consumers. “Permitting non-settled event contracts, as some have suggested, especially related to sports markets, can increase addictive behavior and risk of loss,” Plack wrote.
– CNBC’s Contessa Brewer, Jessica Golden and Ananya Chetia contributed reporting
