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Kalshi pulls sports-related mention markets as regulators scrutinize category

Legal Writer

Publish Date: Aug 19, 2026

Fact checked by: Matt Moreno

Key Points

Kalshi has taken down mention markets related to sporting events
The CFTC is considering whether to restrict the category
Mention markets related to other types of events are still available at Kalshi

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig is looking into whether “mention markets” should be available on prediction market exchanges and amid that inquiry, Kalshi has voluntarily restricted its offerings. Kalshi has removed all of its markets within the category related to sporting events.

However, Kalshi’s mention markets connected to other entertainment genres and political developments remain available for trading. The National Football League’s position on prediction market trading and the fact that Kalshi will provide other types of sports event contracts for a full season of games in that league for the first time may have played roles in Kalshi’s decision.

Raiders minority owner and Fox football analyst Tom Brady talks at Allegiant Stadium on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Las Vegas.

(Photo by: L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

What are mention markets at Kalshi?

Kalshi mention markets are event contracts that settle based on whether a particular person or group of individuals say a specified phrase or word during a defined time frame. While many of these contracts cover press conferences and verbal communication in other forums, some contracts also cover written statements and social media posts.

Within the context of sports, the most popular mention markets cover announcers’ speech during game broadcasts. The contract will specify the announcer, game, and phrase or word.

If the announcer says the selected phrase during the game, people who bought into the market on the “yes” side will get a positive settlement. Should the announcer not say the defined phrase, traders who bought into the market on the “no” side will get a positive settlement.

These contracts are under scrutiny by several parties, including the federal regulator of prediction market exchanges.

Why the CFTC is probing mention markets

According to Bobby Allyn of NPR, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig is conducting a review of mention markets. The concern is the potential ease with which these contracts can be manipulated.

Current CFTC rules ban prediction markets that are highly susceptible to insider trading or the actions of one person can heavily sway. Sports announcer mention markets could fit both descriptions.

While much of what announcers say during games is off-the-cuff to fill air and react to events in games, a good deal of the verbal content is also planned ahead of broadcasts. That planning leaves room for bad actors to buy into markets with insider information.

Furthermore, settlement of these contracts turns completely on the words of one person. Amid this inquiry from the CFTC, North America’s most lucrative professional sports enterprise has weighed in on event contract trading.

NFL pulls its weight on prediction markets

The National Football League (NFL) sent a letter to Kalshi and other prediction markets in March, asking them to not offer markets related to athletes who play in its games and those contests that are easy to manipulate. That correspondence explicitly mentioned announcer mention markets.

The NFL followed that up in July with a comment on Selig’s draft rules for exchanges that echoed the same concerns. Those proposed rules do not explicitly ban mention markets in any context, but they do reinforce existing prohibitions on contracts whose results could be easily knowable in advance or easily manipulated.

As Kalshi did not begin offering sports event contracts in the United States until December 2025, the company is approaching its first full NFL season with those markets live in most of the country. Developments point to Kalshi desiring to stay in the good graces of the league.

Other mention markets still live on Kalshi

Mention markets related to economics and politics remain tradeable on Kalshi at the time of this writing. Examples include upcoming earnings calls for publicly traded companies and the press briefings of political figures.

The structure of these markets is identical to sports announcer mention markets, so the main difference behind them and sports announcer mention markets is the attention that the NFL and others have brought to them. Mention markets related to economics and politics have no inherent qualities that would make them less susceptible to manipulation.

Selig could move against the entire category and if that happens, Kalshi has already shown that it is ready to stop offering mention markets. The NFL’s influence has been a catalyst in that decision.

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