NBA Agrees with Sportsbooks to Restrict Player Prop Bets

The NBA has reached an agreement with its official sportsbook partners to restrict certain player prop bets ahead of the new season.

Sportsbooks will generally stop offering individual statistical props on players expected to receive fewer than 12 minutes of playing time.

The changes also prohibit customers from combining multiple under bets on the same player’s performance in a single game.

"The league seeks to strengthen betting integrity following a series of gambling-related scandals," ESPN reported.

The measures follow several betting integrity controversies involving NBA players and concerns that markets involving reserve players or narrowly defined statistical outcomes may be particularly vulnerable to manipulation.

However, the restrictions highlight the regulatory divide between traditional sportsbooks and prediction markets, as comparable contracts may remain available on federally regulated prediction market platforms.

The league has held discussions with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) about strengthening oversight of basketball-related event contracts but has yet to reach a formal agreement with the regulator.

Meanwhile, prediction market operators Novig and Crypto.com have filed separate federal lawsuits seeking to block Missouri from enforcing state gambling laws against their sports prediction market products.

The legal challenges follow cease-and-desist notices issued by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway in September, ordering prediction market operators to stop offering sports event contracts in the state or obtain the necessary gambling licences.

Both companies argue that their federally regulated event contracts fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC and that federal commodities law preempts Missouri’s gambling restrictions.

The Eighth Circuit has yet to rule on the issue, potentially opening another front in a dispute that could ultimately reach the US Supreme Court.

A group of 90 Labour MPs has urged UK Chancellor John Healey to increase Machine Games Duty (MGD) on Category B gaming machines to 40% in the upcoming Budget.

The campaign is being led by Labour MP Alex Ballinger, who argues that higher taxation would address the concentration of adult gaming centres in economically deprived communities while generating additional government revenue.

Ballinger cited Social Market Foundation research suggesting that the proposed increase could raise between £275 million and £458 million annually.

Industry representatives have warned that a substantial increase in MGD could lead to betting shop closures, job losses and further pressure on land-based gambling businesses.

Trading volume on contracts tied to the 2026 US midterm elections has exceeded $750 million, according to figures reported by CNN.

The figure, recorded as of 15 October, represents an almost eightfold increase compared with the $92.4 million traded on congressional and state election contracts during the 2024 election cycle.

Kalshi and Polymarket currently offer more than 21,000 midterm-related markets, according to the Anti-Corruption Data Collective, which estimates that total trading volume could reach $1.6 billion by the time the elections conclude.

The CFTC’s interim rule on sports and casino event contracts is scheduled to take effect on Oct. 19, alongside the publication of a companion rulemaking proposal.

Legal proceedings will also remain in focus on Oct. 21, when a case-management conference is scheduled in the California tribal litigation against Kalshi and Robinhood.