Senator Presses Sports Leagues On Game Integrity, Addiction, Prediction Market Deals

Sen. Richard Blumenthal Expresses Concerns About Betting, Event Contracts

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) is pressing major American pro sports leagues on game integrity, gambling addiction prevention, their efforts to protect athletes, and compliance with state laws in any partnerships with prediction markets.

The senator sent letters to commissioners of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and the MLS, along with the NCAA, outlining his concerns. Blumenthal, who has introduced a bill banning prediction market trading on most sporting events, is concerned about leagues reaching deals with these platforms.

MLB reached a deal with Polymarket in March and the NHL announced partnerships with the same company and with Kalshi in October. The UFC and MLS also have deals in place with prediction market firms.

“The MLB’s financial and operational partnership with Polymarket and FanDuel provides the league’s official blessing to gambling’s ugly takeover of sports and bolsters its marketing, wagering, and legitimacy,” Blumenthal wrote in his letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

“Fans are taking notice of this and its detrimental effects: according to polling, 47% of men under 30, one of the most likely groups to wager, say legal sports betting is a bad thing for society.”

Seeking Restrictions On Sports Betting, Prediction Markets

Along with his criticism of prediction markets, Blumenthal has also been a critic of sports betting. In 2024, he and Rep. Paul Tonko (D) introduced a bill that would restrict sports betting advertising, ban bonus bets, and eliminate prop bets on college sports.

The bill would also create a federal self-exclusion list, limit the use of artificial intelligence to track bettors’ habits, and put the Justice Department in charge of approving all 38 states with legal sports betting.

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