Sixers become first NBA team to partner with a prediction market, team up with Kalshi amid growing gambling concerns
The Sixers are the first team in the NBA to partner with Kalshi, shortly after the league announced a broader partnership with the two biggest prediction markets.
The Sixers are becoming the first team in the NBA to partner with the prediction market Kalshi, after the NBA officially struck a deal with the prediction market earlier this week.
Kalshi, which launched in 2021, is a prediction market, and not a traditional sportsbook. It allows users to invest in “Yes” or “No” market outcomes on the outcome of real world events like sports games, elections, and reality TV shows. Unlike a traditional gambling site, users are trading against other users, and not against “the house.”
Monday’s NBA agreement with major prediction markets including Kalshi, which were already hosting NBA markets, gave them the right to use NBA logos, league data, and to advertise on NBA broadcasts, while allowing the NBA to approve the markets offered on the platform.
Former NBA player Jontay Porter was recently banned for life from the league for his involvement in a gambling scheme, and Malik Beasley recently pleaded guilty for his own involvement in a separate scheme. In response, the NBA told sportsbooks not to offer bets on the winner of the opening tip, players to miss specific shots, and under bets on players who are expected to play fewer than 12 minutes.
Earlier this year, FanDuel attracted the attention of federal lawmakers for having sent a personalized video of Bryce Harper to a VIP bettor who had a gambling addiction. Harper said he has no partnership with FanDuel, and recorded the message through the video service Cameo, but didn’t know the customer had an addiction.
LeBron James earned scrutiny earlier this year for partnering with Polymarket, another large prediction market. Fans have raised questions and concerns about the ethics of teams and leagues partnering with these markets, which also allow users to bet on political topics and legal cases. The Sixers are already partnered with sportsbook BetMGM.
The NFL prohibits players from investing in or endorsing gambling or prediction market companies. In a report from Front Office Sports earlier this week, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said he was forced by the league to divest his equity stake in Polymarket.
When asked what his message would be to fans uneasy about the Sixers partnering with Kalshi, the team’s chief revenue officer Owen Morin referred back to the NBA’s earlier statement.
“It really stressed, I think, all of our collective goals, not only the Sixers, the NBA, Kalshi’s, and others, of really protecting the integrity of the game,” Morin said. “The NBA has made that obviously a key priority. That’s obviously a focus of ours as well. We know Kalshi believes in it, and so you know, we want to do this in a really safe way, and we believe it’s regulated in a way where the integrity is upheld.”
As part of the launch, Kalshi will fund postgame SEPTA rides for fans attending Friday’s game vs. the Knicks. The partnership will also include significant “fan engagement” elements which will include a poster series with local artists, and the opportunity for Kalshi customers to “win” free merchandise and concessions, among other items, on your phone from the Sixers mobile app.
“We found a lot of alignment on fan-engaging promotions,” Morin said. “They wanted to come in and do some pretty cool stuff that’s going to hit not only fans in the arena but fans in Philadelphia in general, so I would say that shared commitment to engaging our fans in the city.”
