The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Major League Baseball have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the first agreement of its kind between the regulator and a professional sports league.
The move comes as the CFTC increases its focus on event-based contracts and prediction markets, an area that has drawn regulatory scrutiny in recent years. Finance Magnates has previously reported on the agency’s review of such products, particularly around market integrity and oversight standards. The MOU was announced ahead of the 2026 baseball season.
MLB Partners With CFTC on Prediction Markets
It sets out a framework for the two sides to cooperate and exchange information on issues of shared interest, including matters related to professional baseball and associated prediction markets.
Join the inaugural Finance Magnates Singapore Summit 2026, which will bring together brokers, fintechs, banks, EMIs, wealth managers, and hedge funds across APAC.
According to the regulator, the arrangement is intended to support oversight of markets tied to sports outcomes. Michael S. Selig described it as a “collaborative step” to promote “integrity and resilience” in baseball-related prediction markets. He said it would also help the agency develop tools to protect participants from “fraud, manipulation, and other abuses.”
- Funds Are Watching Prediction Markets But Not Using Them Yet, Report Finds
- Banks Begin Applying Insider Trading Rules to Prediction Markets
- Polymarket Grabs Nearly 55% of Prediction Markets as Iran Bets Test CFTC Crackdown
Selig also acknowledged the role of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in establishing the partnership, citing the league’s involvement in efforts related to safeguarding market operations.
MOU Enables “Faster Responses, Risk Detection”
Under the terms of the MOU, both sides will share information in line with applicable laws. The framework is designed to enable faster responses to incidents and improve the identification of emerging risks.
Both parties said they will continue to cooperate as prediction markets linked to professional sports develop.
