NHL Becomes First Major Sports League to License Trademarks to Prediction Markets – Decrypt

The National Hockey League has inked multi-year licensing agreements with prediction market startups Kalshi and Polymarket, marking the first time a major U.S. professional sports league has authorized these platforms to use its trademarks.

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

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

The NHL’s endorsement 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,” Ivan Muller, CMO at crypto-based gaming and sports betting platform, Dexsport.io, told Decrypt.

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

The licensing agreements arrive as prediction markets hit record-breaking growth, with weekly trading volume climbing past $2 billion for the first time.

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

Polymarket recently reclaimed market leadership from Kalshi after trailing for eight weeks, posting $1 billion in weekly volume against Kalshi’s $950 million.

“The addition of licensed NHL markets could accelerate the platforms’ growth trajectory in Q4, as official league partnerships bring credibility and attract new users,” Jamie Elkaleh, chief marketing officer at Bitget Wallet, told Decrypt. 

Elkaleh said both platforms are expanding “beyond sports,” tapping into real-world events like politics and macroeconomics, and evolving into “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 a $2 billion investment from NYSE-owner ICE, pushing its valuation to $9 billion.

Both platforms have capitalized on loosening federal oversight as Kalshi and Polymarket secured CFTC no-action letters this year, clearing them to operate without immediate federal enforcement risks. 

Users on Myriad give Polymarket just an 18.3% chance of announcing its token this year, as Decrypt has previously reported the latter is planning to launch its own native crypto token—likely in 2026. (Disclosure: Myriad is a product of DASTAN, Decrypt’s parent company.)

Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi immediately responded to requests for comment.