NHL becomes the first major sports league to license trademarks to prediction markets

The National Hockey League has signed multi-year licensing agreements with startups in the prediction market Kalshi And PolymarktThis marks the first time a major U.S. professional sports league has allowed these platforms to use its trademarks.

Prediction platforms will now compete with established sportsbook giants such as DraftKings and FanDuel in the lucrative sports betting market. The Wall Street Journal first reported the deals that precede the official announcement.

“As the prediction markets continue to evolve at a rapid pace, partnering with the two industry leaders, Kalshi and Polymarket, provides an exciting opportunity for the broadest fan engagement during the NHL season,” said NHL Business President Keith Wachtel in a press release. “Polymarket and Kalshi are ideal partners as this category continues to grow and expand.”

The NHL’s support lends credibility to platforms that have operated in a regulatory gray area, while potentially paving the way for other major leagues to follow.

“In the long term, partnerships between licensed prediction platforms and established sportsbooks are more likely than head-to-head competition, especially as the industry converges around transparency, liquidity efficiency and on-chain data integrity,” said Ivan Muller, CMO at crypto-based gaming and sports betting platform Dexsport.io. Declutter.

“Traditional sportsbooks focus on entertainment-driven, event-specific betting with defined odds and consumer protection; meanwhile, prediction markets operate as decentralized prediction tools where liquidity and information efficiency determine prices,” he added. “If regulated effectively, both models can ultimately complement each other.”

The licensing agreements come as prediction markets reach record growth, with weekly trading volume rose past $2 billion for the first time.

Sports betting had the highest share last week at $414.7 million, surpassing political markets despite election-related activity.

Polymarket recently regained market leadership from Kalshi after an eight-week deficit, with weekly volume of $1 billion to Kalshi’s $950 million.

“The addition of licensed NHL markets could accelerate the platforms’ growth trajectory in the fourth quarter as official league partnerships bring credibility and attract new users,” Jamie Elkaleh, chief marketing officer at Bitget Wallet, told me. Declutter.

Elkaleh said both platforms are expanding “beyond sports,” tapping into real-world events such as politics and macroeconomics, and moving toward “real-time sentiment tools.”

Earlier this month, Kalshi Raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation with backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia and Coinbase, while Polymarket secured an investment of $2 billion from NYSE owner ICE, increasing its valuation to $9 billion.

Both platforms have benefited from the easing of federal oversight Kalshi And Polymarkt secured CFTC no-action letters this year, allowing them to operate without immediate federal enforcement risks.

Users on Myriad give Polymarket only an 18.3% chance of announcing its token this year, like Declutter has previously reported the latter plans to launch its own native crypto token – likely in 2026. (Disclosure: Myriad is a product of DASTAN, Decode parent company.)

Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi immediately responded to requests for comment.