The NHL reaches multiyear licensing agreements with prediction market startups Kalshi and Polymarket, the first major US league to allow use of its trademarks
Licensing agreement is first of its kind between a major U.S. pro sports league and prediction markets
Context & Ripple Effects
The NHL’s agreements put league trademarks into the competitive toolkit of Kalshi and Polymarket, rather than leaving prediction markets to operate without formal major-league branding. That matters especially because Kalshi was already pursuing sports contracts through its federal financial license, as described in Kalshi’s push to offer sports markets nationally.
Subsequent coverage shows the partnership model moving beyond brand use: MLB later made Polymarket an official platform and granted it exclusive data access in MLB’s data-and-platform deal with Polymarket. The NHL arrangement is an early step in leagues treating prediction-market distribution and rights as a managed commercial channel.
First-order effects
- Kalshi and Polymarket can use NHL trademarks under multiyear licenses, giving both platforms a sanctioned association with a major U.S. league.
- The NHL establishes a direct commercial relationship with prediction-market operators while retaining licensing control over how its marks are used.
Second-order effects
- Rival prediction-market platforms face added pressure to secure league relationships or differentiate on pricing, market design, and liquidity rather than brand recognition alone.
- League rights packages can expand from trademark permissions toward higher-value assets such as official data and exclusivity, a direction illustrated by MLB’s later exclusive-data arrangement.
Third-order effects
- If other leagues follow, sports prediction markets may become a formal rights category alongside other licensed sports products, with leagues serving as gatekeepers to marks, data, and integrity-sensitive market access.
- The market’s structure could increasingly favor platforms able to combine regulatory positioning, liquidity, and rights deals; the scope of that shift remains contingent on league adoption and rules governing sports-event contracts.
The trend: Prediction markets are evolving from standalone trading venues into sports-rights partners that compete for licensed brands, data, and distribution advantages.