NBA orders authorised sportsbooks to drop several prop markets for 2026–27 season

The National Basketball Association instructed its authorised sportsbook partners to stop offering a set of prop markets for the 2026–27 season. The league distributed a memo to operators on Friday that removes markets including parlays built on multiple statistics for the same player, bets on the opening tip winner, wagers on players missing specific shots and unders on players expected to play fewer than 12 minutes. The NBA will enforce the limits through its commercial agreements with partners.

Markets removed and mechanics

The restrictions target four specific market types: parlays constructed from multiple stats for a single player; market offerings that pay on the opening tip winner; bets that hinge on a named player missing particular shots; and under wagers on players whom teams expect to play fewer than 12 minutes. The memo instructs authorised operators to cease offering those markets for the 2026–27 season.

Enforcement and market reach

The NBA said it can impose these limits on markets offered by its authorised operators via commercial agreements. The league estimates its authorised partners account for more than 99 per cent of the US sports betting market, a figure it cites when explaining the scope of the restrictions. The NBA told operators it considered the broader betting ecosystem, including prediction markets, when drafting the guidance.

Integrity versus displacement

Executive vice president Scott Kaufman-Ross told ESPN the league sought a balance between reducing exploitable bet types and avoiding pushing customers to illegal operators.

"There's a balance between ensuring that we are removing problematic bet types but also ensuring that we don't just move activity into the illegal market," Kaufman-Ross said. "And where we landed right now, we think, is the right balance of those two objectives."

Kaufman-Ross also acknowledged to ESPN that the NBA has not announced formal partnerships with prediction market operators and that enforcing the rules on unpartnered platforms could be more difficult without agreements in place.

Where this sits in the market

The league emphasised the measures are meant to restrain markets it views as susceptible to exploitation while keeping wagering within authorised channels. The NBA's guidance arrives ahead of the 2026–27 season and applies to operators the league has authorised to offer betting on its games. For broader regulatory context see regulation and for sports-market coverage see sports.