With the Super Bowl behind us and the Winter Olympics wrapping up, all eyes will soon be turning to the next big sporting event: the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
Or, as they are perhaps better known, March Madness.
Of course, if you’re trying to make money off that phrase, you’d best not let the NCAA see it, cause they will come for you.
That’s the case with Kalshi, which has been using the federally registered trademark without permission on its prediction market platform.
The NCAA has formally requested that the company stop using the phrase.
“The NCAA has previously addressed issues with Kalshi illegitimately using NCAA marks for their offerings,” the NCAA said in a statement to GamblingHarm.org. “This continues to be a misrepresentation of any NCAA involvement, and we have requested immediate removal of NCAA trademarks.”
The organization has good reason not to want its trademarks used by the betting platform. Along with ensuring that its use doesn’t imply a partnership between the two, the NCAA strongly opposes prediction markets and their potential harm to players.
“The NCAA vehemently opposes college sports prediction markets,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in December. He called these platforms an “unregulated marketplace that does not follow any rules of legitimate sports betting operators.”
Baker and the NCAA also came out strongly against player prop bets, which prediction markets essentially offer in an unregulated form.
As for whether Kalshi will fully implement the change, the ball is in their court. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission could force them to do so, but given who is in charge and the fact that Donald Trump Jr. is involved with Kalshi, it’s hard to imagine.
According to Dustin Gouker, the company has started removing the trademarked phrase in some places, but it still shows up in others.
Looks like kalshi started taking these down but still a few examples of Final Four and March Madness pic.twitter.com/ofeo6ga1WQ
— Dustin Gouker (@DustinGouker) February 21, 2026
If for no other reason, the company likely wanted to ensure it doesn’t set a precedent that won’t come back to bite it when the NBA or NFL comes calling. They backed down from transfer portal betting after a severe backlash in December, so they’re not above reproach.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.