NHL Joins MLB In Signing CFTC 'Memorandum Of Understanding' On Sports Event Contracts
Roundup: What we learned from Massachusetts sports betting numbers; sports gambling super PAC delivers in Alabama; Polymarket to launch parlay-style 'Combinatoric Athletic Outcome Contracts'
The National Hockey League became the second major North American sports league to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday. The CFTC oversees prediction markets and sports event contracts in the United States.
It’s similar to an agreement between the CFTC and Major League Baseball signed in March that deals with integrity issues related to sports betting via prediction markets.
Press release from the CFTC:
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Hockey League today announced their signing of a Memorandum of Understanding intended to protect the integrity of professional hockey and maintain fair and transparent prediction markets.
Specifically, under the terms of the MOU, the CFTC and NHL have solidified the intent to share information and coordinate to protect the integrity of both professional hockey and related event contracts offered on CFTC-regulated exchanges. The CFTC and NHL each designated representatives who will communicate regularly to discuss issues related to integrity, share information confidentially, and ensure open lines of communication.
The NHL has also implemented layered protections to monitor these markets, working directly with its partners to ensure integrity.
“I’m proud the CFTC and NHL have officially signed an MOU, furthering the agency’s commitment to improve data sharing between professional sports leagues and the Commission,” said CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig. “This agreement is another step toward safeguarding the integrity of sports and protecting market participants in prediction markets from insider trading, fraud, and other abuses. I applaud NHL Commissioner Bettman for collaborating with the CFTC and taking a leading role in protecting the integrity of professional hockey in our markets.”
“Integrity has always been and remains paramount to the NHL and fundamental to the trust our fans and partners place in our game,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “Our agreement with the CFTC enhances the comprehensive integrity monitoring systems already in place and strengthens our ability to identify, deter, and address potential risks. This MOU reflects a shared commitment to transparency, oversight and protecting the integrity of the game.”
There’s not much of note in the actual MOU, but you can see the whole thing here:
Sports leagues are adjusting quickly to the new world order. Sports event contracts are definitely here for the foreseeable future, and it’s possible the courts green-light them entirely in the coming years.
The NHL, like other leagues, has to deal with prediction markets whether they want to or not. Agreements like this are an acknowledgment of that reality. Will the NBA and NFL join them this year?
FanDuel Announces Series Highlighting Special Olympics Athletes
Sponsor’s message: FanDuel is an Official Partner of the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, taking place this June in Minneapolis. The partnership reflects the company’s commitment to creating more inclusive opportunities to participate in sports. In addition to supporting the 2026 USA Games, FanDuel is also a state-level sponsor of Special Olympics organizations in Maryland, Minnesota, Illinois and Virginia, helping support athletes on their journeys to this summer’s event. To amplify the stories and achievements of athletes headed to Minneapolis, FanDuel has announced a new short-form content series featuring one athlete from each of the four states. Episodes will air across FanDuel social channels in the weeks leading up to the 2026 USA Games. Watch the trailer below:
Gambling news roundup
🚨 The important stuff
DraftKings, FanDuel Amass Pro-Gambling Wins in Alabama Primary (Bloomberg): “DraftKings and FanDuel are on a roll when it comes to backing political campaigns in a state known for being at the center of college sports, marking an early victory for the industry as it seeks to install gambling-friendly lawmakers in state legislatures across the country. A sports gambling super political action committee backed by the two companies poured more than $9.3 million into Alabama Republican primaries, boosting state-level candidates who are likely to help legalize gambling in the state.”
Massachusetts sports betting numbers are out (paywall):
Massachusetts sports betting numbers dropped on Wednesday afternoon, adding another key market to the database of April’s reporting.
Here’s the rundown:
Handle: $679,693,255 (▼ 1.2%)
Revenue: $83,428,333 (▲ 23%)
Hold: 12.3%
Taxes: $16,312,178
🔎 With a lot of data in for sportsbooks in April, handle is tracking almost flat over April 2025, and revenue is up 23%.
🏛️ Legislative and regulatory updates
Sports Betting Alliance memo before the Senate hearing:
As the Senate Commerce Committee prepares to hold its hearing on sports betting and integrity today, the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) believes it is important to ensure the broader discussion remains focused on the core issue before policymakers: how to preserve integrity, transparency, and consumer protections in America’s recently expanded legal sports wagering marketplace.
The SBA represents five leading regulated online sportsbook operators — bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, and FanDuel — serving millions of adult-aged consumers in 31 states with legal online sports wagering.
While the upcoming hearing may feature debates over prediction markets, jurisdictional questions, or broader ideological critiques of gaming, those conversations should not obscure a fundamental reality: Legal, regulated operators are essential integrity partners in modern sports wagering markets.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision invalidating the previous federal ban on states to regulate sports wagering, jurisdictions have intentionally created regulated frameworks that prioritize:
Consumer protections
Sports integrity safeguards
Regulatory oversight
Responsible gaming standards
Transparency and accountability
Revenue funding for critical priorities like public education and safety
Prior to legalization, sports betting already existed at a significant scale in the U.S. through illegal offshore operators and underground bookmaking networks that provided no meaningful protections for consumers, athletes, or sporting events. Today’s regulated marketplace is fundamentally different.
More hearings appear to be coming, according to Fox News.
Went To A Sports Betting Hearing And A Prediction Market Fight Broke Out (InGame): “Cruz, a Texas Republican, and Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, were on the same page. So was Sen. John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, where gambling is flat-out illegal. Bill Miller from the American Gaming Association pointed out that 41 attorneys general — red, blue, and everything in between — signed a letter telling the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in essence, to knock it off.”
Longtime Ohio Casino Control Commission Executive Director Retires (Sports Betting Dime): “The Ohio Casino Control Commission lost its longtime executive director this week as the regulator announced his retirement after more than a decade of service. Matt Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, announced his retirement during the Wednesday, May 20 commission meeting. Schuler has served as the executive director of the commission since 2011.”
Chambers-ranked litigator George Calhoun acts as a strategic guide for Ifrah Law’s iGaming clients who face difficult business challenges. When iGaming operators are trapped in unfavorable legacy agreements or scrambling after their business partners suddenly bail out, George provides the strategic counsel they need in an industry defined by rapid expansion, complex agreements, and high commercial stakes. George draws on his extensive bankruptcy and restructuring know-how to protect clients’ profitability and viability – at the negotiating table, in arbitration, or in the courtroom.
Read More: Calhoun on Keeping iGaming Companies Competitive and Thriving
🔮 Prediction markets
Critics Warn Kalshi and Polymarket Risk a Juul-Style Reckoning (Front Office Sports): “FanDuel cofounder Nigel Eccles says prediction markets have drifted into a type of advertising gambling companies have learned — often painfully — to avoid. Kalshi has taken heat for a social media ad in which a young woman claimed she paid her rent for two years trading on Kalshi.”
“I love gambling; I work in the gambling industry,” Eccles tells Front Office Sports. “But I have a huge problem with people trying to basically mislead customers as if it’s some sort of financial liberation.”
Interesting data:
Brad Allen@BradAllenNFLAround 2/3rds of Kalshi activity comes from non-OSB states per Morgan Stanley
7:24 AM · May 21, 2026 · 28.4K Views7 Replies · 11 Reposts · 33 LikesMy latest at The Event Horizon: Don’t you dare call it a parlay. Or a combo. It’s a Combinatoric Athletic Outcome Contract. Well, at least that’s what Polymarket US is calling it in a filing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday. It appears that we could see parlays/combos/CAOCs at the US-facing app soon.
And the latest from STTP:
📖 Other things you should know/read
New York’s case that Steam lootboxes are “gambling” is a free speech violation, argue Valve (Rock Paper Shotgun): “Valve have moved to dismiss a New York attorney general lawsuit accusing them of facilitating illegal gambling by way of lootboxes on Steam, after first seeking to try it in the court of public opinion. In a memo filed this week, the company offered a largely familiar defence against the New York AG lawsuit, hinging on the idea that randomised lootbox rewards can’t be defined as gambling under state law, because they are bought with virtual currency (which can be used for other purposes) and have no ‘real’ value as cash or property.”
Underage sports betting reports surge in Connecticut, some involving children as young as seven (WFSB): “More than 200 reports of underage sports betting were reported in Connecticut in one year, with some instances involving children as young as seven years old. A large majority of the reports came from high school-aged kids.”
“It is shocking to see that data, especially as young as some of these children are,” said Kris Gilman of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Gaming Division.
👀 Looking for employees? Or looking for work?
I curate a reverse job board for the gambling industry. The goal of this resource: to match job seekers with prospective employers.
Industry news
EDGE Markets Partners with zerohash to Enable Compliant Crypto Funding for EDGE Boost Accounts (press release): EDGE Boost by EDGE Markets, a first-of-its-kind banking solution designed to support gaming, event futures and derivative markets in the U.S., announced today a partnership with zerohash to enable secure and compliant crypto-to-USD movement capabilities for users in all 50 states.
Through the integration, users will be able to securely connect their EDGE Boost accounts with major platforms such as Gemini and Robinhood, among others, enabling compliant crypto-to-USD conversion for approved tokens. zerohash has been at the forefront of supporting financial institutions and safely integrating digital assets and stablecoins into their products. Its infrastructure allows platforms to securely connect with crypto custodians and facilitate compliant digital asset transfers while incorporating bank-grade security and mandatory two-factor authentication. The zerohash integration will provide EDGE Boost users across the country with a seamless way to access their crypto funds for gaming or trading 24/7.
“Our community of users are asking for innovations in the fintech space that creates a seamless way to access crypto funds for trading and gaming,” said Seni Thomas, Founder and CEO of EDGE Markets. “By integrating zerohash into our services, we are adding to our extensive suite of solutions, including reduced financial friction points, lowered risk and fees, and a dedicated bank account packed with responsible gaming tools.”
Update from Massachusetts:
RLinnehanSR@RLinnehanSRThe Massachusetts Gaming Commission unanimously approved a request from @CaesarsSports to integrate the NYRABets horse racing app into its online sportsbook. The integration will likely take place before the June 6 running of the Belmont Stakes.3:44 PM · May 21, 2026 · 460 Views1 Reply · 4 LikesNYC Casinos’ Bumpy Start: Underperformance At Resorts World, Delays At Metropolitan Park (Casino Reports): “Veteran gaming industry consultant Brendan Bussmann, the managing partner at B Global Advisors, believes Resorts World New York City might have made a strategic error rushing to launch table games in late April. The Genting-owned property, expanded from the racino that first opened on the site of the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens in 2011, renovated its third floor and began dealing downstate New York’s first legal table games an estimated four years ahead of its competition. But at what cost?”
“You only have one chance to make a first impression,” Bussmann said Wednesday as a guest on The New Normal webcast, titled “Tribal Gaming in the Shadow of Manhattan: The Fight for Market Share in the Northeast.”
Hires and Higher-Ups: Affinity Interactive, Bragg Gaming and more (SBC Americas)
🌍 Outside the US
Top Alberta Minister Confirms July 13 Regulated Sports Betting Launch At SBC Summit Canada (Sports Betting Dime): “A top Alberta Minister has confirmed the province will indeed allow the regulated launch of Alberta sports betting apps on Monday, July 13. While the launch date has been widely reported, Dale Nally, Alberta Minster of Service and Red Tape Reduction, today publicly confirmed the start date during a fireside chat at SBC Summit Canada.”
Three distinct power plays running in parallel here: leagues embedding themselves in CFTC oversight through MOUs, sportsbook operators spending $9.3M on Alabama primaries to install friendly lawmakers, and 41 AGs trying to pull jurisdiction back to the state level. Each faction is betting on a different branch of government to set the final rules. Meanwhile Polymarket files to offer parlays under a ten-syllable name, which might be the clearest sign yet that the line between "event contract" and "sports bet" exists mostly in regulatory filings.