Prediction markets are quickly gaining steam as a form of gambling. And they are quickly making their way into the sports world, leaving the NCAA and other sports leagues in a difficult position.
Even with the regulations that exist around legal sports betting, we have seen a number of controversies and scandals arise from Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors to two players under suspicion of manipulating outcomes with the Cleveland Guardians.
While the NCAA has escaped a major nationwide scandal to this point, it has not been without its sports betting related controversies. Alabama baseball coach Brian Bohannon was fired after calls he made were linked to bets in Ohio.
Now with the rise of prediction markets, there is an entirely different universe of betting for sports leagues like the NCAA to deal with. Collegiate athletes are particularly vulnerable to sports betting influences, and now that exposure could expand greatly thanks to the new trends.
But as of this point, there is no regulation around prediction markets like there are with sports betting. And for the NCAA, that leaves them “deeply concerned” according to a statement given to David Purdum at ESPN.
NCAA statement on Robinhood launching college football prediction markets: pic.twitter.com/Hm2goZfs4l
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) August 21, 2025
“Sport integrity is paramount for the NCAA, and we are deeply concerned by unregulated and unprotected markets that pose a threat to competition integrity and student-athlete safety,” the NCAA statement reads.
The NCAA isn’t exactly the most faithful and trustworthy organization when it comes to being able to rapidly respond to changing times as they have largely washed their hands of everything from NIL to enforcement and pretty much everything else.
But it’s not just the NCAA and other sports leagues that will need to respond to the rise of prediction markets. Kalshi has seen a rapid rise in usage and relevance and already DraftKings and FanDuel are trying to gain some marketshare before it’s too late. In a bizarre scenario, FanDuel and DraftKings are moving into stock betting while trading app Robinhood is looking to get into the sports market.
It seems like everyone in sports was unprepared for prediction markets to take off so quickly in popularity, and in trying to craft some kind of response they are going to have to do so on the fly.
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