Philadelphia 76ers Become First NBA Team to Partner With Kalshi

The Philadelphia 76ers have become the first NBA franchise to sign an official prediction-market partnership, announcing a multiyear agreement with Kalshi on Oct. 30.

The deal gives Kalshi advertising opportunities inside the team's arena, exposure across its mobile app and digital platforms, and several fan promotions, including a chance to win $76,000. The announcement follows the NBA's Oct. 26 agreements naming Kalshi and Polymarket its Preferred Prediction Market Exchanges. The announcement did not disclose financial terms or the exact duration of the 76ers' arrangement.

"As we build our relationship with the NBA, we couldn't be more excited to have the 76ers as our first announced team partner," Adam Barrick, Kalshi's head of sports partnerships, said in a statement reported by PhillyVoice.

What the 76ers partnership includes

The agreement centers on fan engagement, with Kalshi sponsoring several new promotions throughout the season. Sixers Posters will feature digital artwork created by artists with connections to Philadelphia, while Beat the Pro will give fans an opportunity to participate in a virtual competition.

Selected participants will advance to an on-court event against a member of the 76ers organization, with a $76,000 prize. Kalshi will also sponsor Top Plays of the Month voting and receive exposure through the team's mobile ticketing platform.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, customers can win merchandise and concessions through the 76ers' app. The partnership launched with a transportation promotion for the Oct. 30 home game against the New York Knicks. Kalshi funded free postgame rides from NRG Station on SEPTA's Broad Street Line.

"We found a lot of alignment on fan-engaging promotions," Owen Morin, the 76ers' chief revenue officer of partnerships, told the Inquirer.

NBA agreement brings additional safeguards

The team partnership builds on the NBA's recently announced agreements with the prediction market apps. Those arrangements allow the exchanges to use NBA branding and Sportradar-distributed official statistics to operate and settle authorized basketball markets.

They also introduce restrictions intended to protect game integrity. Under the NBA's framework, league and team personnel cannot trade NBA event contracts. Exchanges must also share information about suspicious trading and cooperate with investigations.

The league retains approval rights over which NBA markets its partners can offer. Those protections follow earlier sportsbook restrictions targeting wagers considered particularly vulnerable to manipulation, including certain player unders and opening-tip markets.

Regulatory questions remain

Kalshi operates a federally regulated exchange where customers trade contracts tied to real-world events, including sports outcomes. Unlike the best sports betting sites, customers trade against other market participants, and trading activity determines prices.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversees Kalshi's exchange, although several states argue that sports event contracts should also be subject to their gambling laws. That dispute remains unresolved despite the NBA's commercial agreements.

The CFTC recently sued Utah to challenge state enforcement against federally registered exchanges, illustrating the continuing disagreement over regulatory authority.

For the 76ers, however, the immediate focus is on bringing Kalshi into the team's existing marketing and fan-engagement programs.

The agreement makes Philadelphia the first NBA franchise to formalize that relationship, potentially establishing a model for other teams as prediction markets expand their presence across professional sports.