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The National Hockey League (NHL) is stepping into new territory by signing licensing deals with prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket. The move takes the league’s official partnerships beyond the usual sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel. It’s the first time a major US sports league has attached its name to platforms that call themselves financial exchanges instead of gambling companies. That particular distinction has sparked a growing legal and political debate, drawing strong criticism from the Indian Gaming Association and tribal leaders across the country.
“Prediction markets are here to stay,” said Keith Wachtel, the NHL’s President of Business Development. “By partnering with Kalshi and Polymarket, we hope to engage a new generation of fans, tech-savvy, data-driven, and eager to participate in the action.”
We’re honored and proud to be named the Official Prediction Market Partner of the NHL.
You can now trade with no fees, no house, & no limits. pic.twitter.com/XuFOboiklY
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) October 22, 2025
But if the NHL sees a new revenue frontier, the rest of the gaming industry, and especially Indian Country, sees a dangerous precedent.
During this week’s Indian Gaming Association webinar, “The New Normal: Too Big to Fail – Prediction Market’s Race to Dominate U.S. Gaming Before the Courts Catch Up,” legal experts and tribal leaders warned that prediction markets are attempting to federalize gambling through regulatory loopholes, bypassing both state and tribal authority.
"The truth is states individually can prevail in their cases and secure preliminary injunctions. At least in the interim, victory is on a state-by-state basis and once Kalshi is forced to geofence around three tribes or around MA, that will ignite a barrage of similar lawsuits."
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) October 23, 2025
“It’s gambling,” said Daniel Wallach, a prominent U.S. gaming law attorney. “The distinction between what Kalshi is offering and Polymarket versus what the tribes and the states are offering is the age limit. They’re trading with those 18 years of age and older, buying and selling event contracts tied to sporting events. You can’t do that in the vast majority of state or tribal governments, which have a baseline of 21 years of age or over. So the 18 to 21 age range is probably the most at risk segment for compulsive and problem gambling.
“And then you tack on top of that the absence of any responsible gambling or RG protocols or, or gambling type consumer protections that are identifying problem gamblers.”
Over the weekend, an Instagram post by Kalshi described the prediction market as “kind of addicting,” a choice of words that didn’t go unnoticed by users. One commenter wrote, “Addictive, the goal stated,” while another remarked, “You mean gamble.”
Wallach responded, saying: “Talk about the Wild West. This is the Wild East, centralized in New York city and Washington D.C. without any sports related protections and without any responsible gambling safeguards. What could possibly go wrong here?
“Reputationally for the leagues, for the OSB operators, that can come home to roost very quickly.”
He explained that prediction market companies are exploiting a regulatory gap between state gaming laws and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, classifying their wagers as “event contracts” rather than bets. “They can self certify any event contract they want and it goes into effect immediately, which is hysterical.”
The legal commentator touched on the recent move by the Nevada Gaming Commission, which filed a motion this week to dissolve a previously issued injunction that allows Kalshi to continue offering event contract lines in the state.
“Their early victories in Nevada and New Jersey were predicated on the storyline being the Masters, the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby as sort of the illustrative event for which there are economic consequences. You can buy that. But now they’ve gone aggressive and began self certifying touchdowns within a game, prop bets, parlays. And that’s going to open the door, and it already has opened the door to Nevada seeking to dissolve the preliminary injunction that Judge [Andrew P. Gordon] issued to Kalshi.”
Prediction markets are ‘moving at breakneck speed’
Victor Rocha, Chairman of the Indian Gaming Association, warned that this ‘backdoor gambling’ model threatens the very structure of tribal gaming. “They’re moving at breakneck speed,” Rocha said. “These prediction markets right now are operating. They’re untaxed. There’s no taxes or fees being collected. They’re unregulated. There’s no one watching what they’re doing. There’s no consumer protection.”
The American Gaming Association issued a sharply worded statement condemning the NHL’s partnership.
“The NHL’s decision to license its intellectual property to Kalshi and Polymarket, a pair of prediction market platforms operating outside of state-regulated gaming frameworks, is deeply concerning. Contrary to the league’s claims, the future of these platforms is far from certain, evidenced by the legal proceedings in multiple states and the views of well over half of the nation’s attorneys general,” the AGA said.
The association added that the platforms are “offering sports wagers in all 50 states to anyone 18 years of age,” undermining state and tribal systems that set 21 as the legal wagering age. “Undermining that success with backdoor gambling schemes masquerading as ‘financial products’ is reckless and shortsighted.”
Tribal governments join forces amid Kalshi and Polymarket NHL partnership
Wallach credited tribal governments for helping turn the legal tide against prediction market operators. “Until the tribes joined the battle, Kalshi was kicking the states’ asses,” he said. “I got to tell you, [the tribal governments’] briefs — their amicus curiae briefs — are better than even the states’ briefs, better than any other stakeholders’ briefs… And if I could identify a turning point here, it would have been the Maryland case… that was the first time a court ruled in favor of the state, and that was helped immeasurably by the tribal amicus brief.”
Tribal attorneys including Joseph Webster, Scott Crowell, Bryan Newland, and Mike Koenig have coordinated a multi-state strategy to intervene in cases against Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com. “They’re filing in every case across the country,” Wallach said. “Victory is victory. We’re going to participate in every single one of these lawsuits and try to turn the tide and rack up wins.”
Could not agree more @a_kane47. There is an important role for casino regulators, but it is not on federal exchanges. Regulatory capture should not stand in the way of business innovation and consumer demand.
— Sara Slane (@Sara_Slane) October 21, 2025
For Rocha and his co-host, IGA Executive Director Jason Giles, the stakes go beyond market share, as they criticized former AGA executive and current Kalshi Head of Corporate Development Sara Slane’s recent comments on X.
“This is about states’ rights and tribal sovereignty,” Giles said. “The federal government has no role in regulating gambling. And now [Sara Slane] insultingly referring to state regulators as casino regulators and mere slot machine regulators… This is traditionally a field that’s regulated by state governments.”
Rocha echoed that sentiment. “We have to fight for what’s left of our sovereignty and whatever it takes, and that’s what we do.”
Wallach agreed. “Everybody and anybody can conceivably be your competitor on the CFTC landscape…The states need to become more aggressive… They have the better argument by far. But they’re losing the ground game.”
Featured image: Kalshi / Polymarket / NHL
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