MLB memo bans players from joining prediction market event contracts – report
Major League Baseball (MLB) reportedly sent out a memo near the end of the 2025 season telling players they are not allowed to take part in baseball related event contracts on Kalshi, Polymarket, or other prediction markets. Front Office Sports said the memo was titled “Re: Baseball Related Prediction Markets” and was issued by commissioner Rob Manfred’s office along with the players union.
The report comes as Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz and Luis Leandro Ortiz Ribera face serious charges, including wire-fraud and bribery-related conspiracies, for allegedly helping rig bets on pitches in MLB games. Prosecutors say the scheme involved hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Two Current Major League Baseball Players Charged in Sports Betting and Money Laundering Conspiracy https://t.co/uHE2ohObCc (Announced with @NewYorkFBI)
— US Attorney EDNY (@EDNYnews) November 9, 2025
The memo told players they must not participate in “prediction markets” or put money on any outcome tied to baseball games or events. It described those activities as a violation of the league’s long standing rules on betting.
The memo, dated August 26, 2025, stated, “Several companies (including Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com, among others) are now offering what they call ‘prediction markets,’ which allow members of the public to risk money on the outcome of specific events, including baseball and other sporting events.” It also included screenshots from Kalshi dated May 5.
Two people from different MLB clubs reportedly confirmed that the memo went out in August. It was shared with players at both the major and minor league levels and was even posted in noticeable spots near the locker rooms. Still, the news about the league’s position on prediction markets is only gradually making its way around to players.
The memo said the presence of baseball prediction markets had “recently come to our attention,” though Kalshi introduced its MLB markets on April 16, more than four months before the document was circulated.
MLB apprehensive about prediction markets amid betting scandals
Although Major League Baseball has eagerly jumped into online sports betting in recent years, working with the NBA and the PGA Tour to push for legalization and signing big deals with operators like DraftKings and FanDuel, the league has stayed fairly quiet about the growing prediction market model used by platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
The NHL already has agreements with both Kalshi and Polymarket, while the NFL has raised concerns about weak oversight of prediction markets and said their products “mimic sports betting.” At the same time, the NBA is dealing with a major gambling scandal that involves a current player, a current coach, and a former player and coach, which has put even more attention on how leagues handle these issues.
News: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirms that the NFL does not plan on participating in prediction markets without a regulatory framework in place as well as the need for more comfort on the risks to the integrity of the sport. In other words, it won't be anytime soon. pic.twitter.com/9uMzLE3LG7
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) December 3, 2025
On Wednesday (December 3), NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was not ready to enter prediction markets. Speaking at the Genius Sports Investor Day alongside CEO Mark Locke, he said: “On the predictive markets… for us, that’s not something we’re about to enter into. We are going to see how things play out, both from a regulatory standpoint … There are a lot of legal challenges going on right now.”
ReadWrite has reached out to the MLB and the MLBPA for comment.
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