Kalshi Certifies NCAA Transfer Portal Markets, But Won’t Offer Them Yet

^{NCAA President Charlie Baker responded with fierce opposition to Kalshi's possible offering of markets on college athletes' transfer decisions. (Photo: Bonnie Cash / UPI via Alamy Live News)}

Prediction market platform Kalshi submitted a filing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday informing the commission that it was self-certifying markets based on whether college athletes would enter the transfer portal. The company later said that it has no immediate plans to offer such markets.

In its CFTC filing, Kalshi wrote that such markets would be available as of Dec. 17, though they never appeared on the platform.

NCAA Calls Transfer Portal Markets ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’

In the filing, Kalshi said that it would offer markets specifically on NCAA Division I football and basketball players. Contracts would be considered settled if a player either officially entered the transfer portal or if they publicly announced their intent to do so.

News of the filing provoked a stern response from NCAA President Charlie Baker, calling Kalshi an "unregulated marketplace that does not follow any rules of legitimate sports betting operators."

The NCAA has already made their opposition of prediction markets in the college athlete world known, especially after walking back a rule that allowed staff and athletes to bet on pro sports.

Kalshi – and prediction markets more broadly – have expanded greatly in the United States over the past year. That growth began when a court battle resulted in Kalshi being allowed to offer prediction markets on the 2024 US presidential and congressional elections. 

The company quickly moved into sports-related markets in 2025, which has drawn opposition from regulators in many states. Regulators have argued that Kalshi is effectively offering sports betting without complying with the regulations of licensed sportsbooks. Kalshi maintains that it is federally authorized by the CFTC, which is the sole organization with regulatory authority over it.

Kalshi: ‘No Immediate Plans’ for Transfer Portal Markets

Baker noted that regulatory battle in his statement, calling Kalshi “an unregulated marketplace that does not follow any rules of legitimate sports betting operators.”

Whether due to the uproar or simply because it wasn’t in the company’s plans, markets on the transfer portal never appeared on Kalshi. A statement released Wednesday night suggested users should not expect to see such markets anytime soon, though the company left open the possibility of their future arrival.

“We certify markets all the time that we do not end up listing,” Kalshi said in a statement. “Despite our competitors having these markets live, we have no immediate plans to list these contracts.”

The NCAA transfer portal is an online database that allows college athletes to declare their intent of transfer away from their current school. Each sport has a window during which players may enter into the portal, marking themselves as open for recruitment efforts from other schools. The portal for NCAA football is open for about two weeks each January, while the NCAA basketball portal opens in late March and runs through mid-April.