NCAA president Charlie Baker reiterated on Thursday the association is “vehemently opposed” to prediction markets for college sports after Kalshi moved toward allowing users to bet on whether athletes would enter the transfer portal.
InGame HQ, which covers the gambling industry, reported Wednesday that Kalshi had filed the necessary paperwork with federal regulators to begin taking bets this week on who will transfer, but as of Thursday no such markets have been made available to the public.
The bets would be settled based on public announcements because the NCAA’s transfer portal is not made available to the public, InGame HQ reported.
Baker responded Thursday on social media.
“The NCAA vehemently opposes college sports prediction markets,” he posted on X.
The @NCAA vehemently opposes college sports prediction markets. It is already bad enough that student-athletes face harassment and abuse for lost bets on game performance, and now Kalshi wants to offer bets on their transfer decisions and status — this is absolutely unacceptable…
— Charlie Baker (@CharlieBakerMA) December 18, 2025
The NCAA transfer portal period for football begins Jan. 2 and stays open until Jan. 16. The portal window for men’s and women’s basketball opens after the Final Fours in April.
But transfer activity in football has already started, with dozens of players from schools large and small making their intentions known on social media. Those announcements do not necessarily preclude players from staying with their current schools.
Last month, the NCAA sent a letter to Kalshi requesting changes to how the company describes its sports markets and seeking clarification on its integrity safeguards against gambling risks. College athletics’ governing body is sensitive to the appearance of a relationship between itself and Kalshi, which is not classified as a gambling service but allows users to predict outcomes and profit from them. NCAA senior vice president and chief legal officer Scott Bearby asked Kalshi to adjust the phrasing “Outcome verified from NCAA” to “Outcome sourced from NCAA.com,” citing concerns that the original wording implied a partnership.
Bearby also asked about Kalshi’s stance on prop betting and whether it would consider forbidding such markets or cooperating with NCAA investigations.
The NCAA and college sports leaders have pushed hard for bans on prop bets involving college athletes amid an uptick in investigations into game fixing and gambling violations. In the last few months, the NCAA has ruled more than a dozen Division I men’s basketball players permanently ineligible for manipulating results, making impermissible bets, providing information and not cooperating with investigations.
The NCAA also recently rescinded a proposed change to its longstanding rules banning athletes and those who work for athletic departments from betting on any professional sports — even legally.
— The Athletic’s Devon Henderson contributed reporting.
