NBA player prop bets ban covers DraftKings and FanDuel, but not prediction markets

The NBA has told DraftKings, FanDuel and its other authorized sportsbook partners to stop offering same-player under parlays and a set of prop markets the league links to manipulation. SBC Americas confirmed the guidance with the NBA and both operators after ESPN first reported the memo on Friday, October 16. The season opens on Tuesday.

The league can impose those limits through its sportsbook agreements, which it estimates cover more than 99% of the U.S. sports betting market, according to Legal Sports Report. Prediction market operators offering sports contracts under federal commodities oversight sit outside those deals.

What the NBA player prop bets ban covers

The parlay rule is the central one: bettors can no longer combine unders on the same player's statistics in a single wager. Legal Sports Report, which reported the memo's contents, says the league also prohibited alternate under lines that offer larger payouts.

Other markets named in the guidance, per SBC Americas and Casino.org:

• Individual "first-of" markets, such as the first basket, first 3-pointer, first rebound, assist, steal or block
• Who wins the opening tip
• Whether a player misses specific shots
• Unders on players expected to play fewer than 12 minutes

Those add to earlier NBA restrictions covering players on two-way and 10-day contracts, plus markets on turnovers, fouls and missed free throws. The league said the same rules will apply to WNBA games starting in 2027.

An NBA spokesperson told SBC Americas that "protecting the integrity of our games remains the NBA's top priority," and that the league is expanding limits on "bets that are more susceptible to manipulation" while tightening protections against betting-related harassment.

The Porter and Rozier cases behind the parlay limits

Same-player under parlays sit at the center of the federal cases the league has been responding to. Jontay Porter admitted pulling himself out of games early to benefit bettors while on a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors in 2023-24. Prosecutors said one bettor placed an $80,000 parlay on six of Porter's statistical unders for a March 2024 game against the Sacramento Kings, with a potential payout of about $1.1 million. Porter left after three minutes. The NBA banned him in 2024, and he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10, 2026, Courthouse News reported via Casino.org.

Prosecutors allege a similar scheme with Terry Rozier, who left a March 2023 Charlotte Hornets game against the New Orleans Pelicans after roughly nine minutes. A May indictment added sports bribery and honest services wire fraud conspiracy charges and accused him of agreeing to a $100,000 bribe. Rozier has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing; his trial is set for February 2027.

Scott Kaufman-Ross, the NBA's executive vice president, told ESPN that "seeing where we may have had issues in the past is one of the inputs" in deciding which markets to cut. He said the league weighed pulling questionable bets against pushing activity into the illegal market: "And where we landed right now, we think, is the right balance of those two objectives."

Sportsbooks sign on, prediction markets stay out

DraftKings said the guidance "formalizes many of the market restrictions already reflected" in its practices, and that it supports the league's efforts. FanDuel called the rules a product of "a foundation of dialogue and collaboration with our league partners."

Prediction markets are a different matter. The NBA has no partnership with a prediction market operator yet, though Legal Sports Report says industry sources expect at least one during the 2026-27 season. Several NBA players have personal deals with such companies, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and OG Anunoby, and Kalshi sponsors Madison Square Garden. At least five teams have deals with prediction market firms, none of which promote the products directly.

Other leagues have moved faster. The NHL partnered with Kalshi and Polymarket in 2025, MLB signed an exclusive Polymarket deal in March plus a separate agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and MLS and UFC have signed deals. The NFL, which has no such partnership, told the Supreme Court in an Oct. 8 filing that Kalshi and the CFTC had resisted safeguards comparable to those required of licensed sportsbooks, including limits on contracts involving missed field goals.

Kaufman-Ross acknowledged that enforcement is harder without partnerships, GamblingNews reported. Commissioner Adam Silver has asked prediction markets for data access to help detect insider trading, according to the same outlet.

Integrity measures and the dates ahead

Alongside the sportsbook memo, the NBA sent teams a separate note. Former NFL player and retired FBI agent Charles Tillman will lead in-person training on betting rules for players, coaches and staff. The league is expanding an AI-based monitoring platform for unusual betting activity, updating its fan code of conduct on harassment, working with Social Protect to identify and delete abusive messages, and running a text hotline for threats. Casino.org reported that the in-person training is mandatory and begins this season.

The NBA and WNBA also announced a responsible gambling campaign with the National Council on Problem Gambling on Wednesday, aimed at fans, particularly young adults, and covering both sportsbooks and prediction markets.

The season opens Tuesday. Porter's sentencing is set for Dec. 10, Rozier's trial for February 2027, and the WNBA adopts the same market restrictions in 2027.