The NBA has introduced new betting restrictions for the 2026-27 season, prohibiting certain player props and parlays considered vulnerable to manipulation. The changes apply to authorized sportsbook partners, including DraftKings and FanDuel, but do not currently extend to prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
The league has moved to limit specific bet types offered through sportsbooks, citing concerns over game integrity and the potential for manipulation. The restrictions target wagering categories the NBA considers the highest risk to competition fairness.
According to ESPN, the NBA issued guidance to sportsbook operators on October 16, targeting betting markets associated with recent gambling scandals. The measures aim to protect game integrity while limiting opportunities for individuals to profit from deliberately influencing player statistics.
The new restrictions prohibit parlays combining multiple under bets on the same player’s statistics. These wagers allow bettors to profit when a player finishes below several statistical thresholds, such as points, rebounds and assists.
The league also instructed its authorized sportsbook partners to remove several other markets:
The restrictions build on existing limitations covering players on short-term contracts, turnovers, fouls and missed free throws. According to Front Office Sports, the changes will also apply to the WNBA next season.
The NBA’s decision follows gambling investigations involving former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
Porter received a lifetime NBA ban in April 2024 after an investigation found that he disclosed confidential information to bettors and manipulated his participation in games. He subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Rozier faces federal charges related to allegations that bettors used inside information about his playing time to profit from statistical under bets. He has pleaded not guilty, and his case remains unresolved.
The NBA is also expanding its betting integrity measures beyond restricting markets. Former NFL player and retired FBI agent Charles Tillman will conduct mandatory in-person training for players, coaches and training staff, while the league is strengthening its monitoring of suspicious wagering activity.
Although the NBA can influence the markets offered by its authorized sportsbook partners through commercial agreements, the new restrictions do not directly apply to prediction market exchanges.
Kalshi operates as a federally regulated derivatives exchange under Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight. Polymarket also offers event contracts, including sports-related markets, through a different trading structure.
Unlike traditional sportsbooks, which generally set odds and accept wagers directly, prediction markets allow participants to trade contracts linked to event outcomes.
The distinction creates a challenge for the NBA. Without comparable agreements with prediction market operators, the league cannot simply extend its sportsbook restrictions to those platforms through the same contractual mechanism.
According to Legal Sports Report, the NBA has not announced a prediction market partnership, although several teams and players already maintain commercial relationships with companies operating in the sector.
Major sportsbook operators have supported the changes.
DraftKings said the guidance formalizes restrictions already reflected in many of its existing practices. FanDuel also welcomed the measures, emphasizing cooperation between leagues, operators and state regulators.
NBA Executive Vice President Scott Kaufman-Ross told ESPN that the league must balance removing potentially problematic wagers against the risk of pushing betting activity toward unregulated operators.
The NBA’s approach therefore focuses on specific markets considered particularly susceptible to manipulation rather than eliminating player prop betting altogether.
The restrictions highlight the different regulatory frameworks governing conventional sportsbooks and prediction market platforms.
Licensed sportsbooks operate under state gambling regulations, while Kalshi’s event contracts fall under federal commodities oversight. The extent to which states can regulate sports-related prediction contracts remains the subject of legal disputes.
For bettors, the immediate changes primarily affect the availability of specific NBA markets at participating sportsbooks. The NBA’s latest agreements have not imposed similar restrictions on Kalshi or Polymarket.
Whether the league can secure comparable safeguards from prediction market operators will depend on future commercial arrangements and regulatory developments. For now, the NBA’s new rules leave a distinction between traditional sports betting and sports-related event contracts.
Vladimir is a senior iGaming writer and editor, adept at breaking down the key details of crypto casinos and sportsbooks so players don’t have to, delivering honest, player-focused information that actually matters.
