World Baseball Classic Just Ended! MLB Designates Polymarket as Exclusive Partner, Joins Forces with CFTC to Combat Match Fixing

After the conclusion of the World Baseball Classic, MLB officials announced the official designation of the blockchain prediction market Polymarket as an exclusive partner, and signed a memorandum with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to maintain the fairness of the competition.

MLB and Polymarket reach exclusive partnership, sign memorandum with CFTC

Just after the 2026 WBC Classic ended and before the start of the MLB regular season, MLB officials announced the official appointment of the prediction market Polymarket as an exclusive partner. Following the partnership, Polymarket will be allowed to use the MLB logo and access league data through Sportradar.

MLB President Robert Manfred and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig also signed a memorandum to uphold the integrity of the competition.

MLB experienced a betting scandal involving pitchers last year

At the end of last year, MLB was involved in a bribery scandal involving pitchers. Suspected bribers include Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, who were accused of colluding with gamblers to manipulate pitches and throw games, facing potential sentences of up to 20 years.

To prevent market manipulation, both parties will share information. Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan stated that they will restrict betting markets with integrity risks, including bets on individual pitches, coaching decisions, and umpire performance.

Image source: Polymarket MLB and Polymarket reach exclusive partnership, sign memorandum with CFTC

Prediction markets have become mainstream for major global events

Polymarket is a blockchain-based prediction market that allows users to trade on future events. Recently, it has become a mainstream platform for predicting major global events.

Before the 98th Academy Awards, trading volume for the top five award prediction contracts on Polymarket exceeded $62 million. During the WBC Classic, the championship game betting pool also generated nearly $3 million in trading volume, with one of the event organizers being MLB.

Prediction markets have deeply integrated into audience participation in major events, with some traders making over $340,000 in a single bet during the Classic.

Related reports:
2026 Oscar winners announced! Polymarket inflows reach $2 billion, with some winners earning about 5 million TWD in profit

Classic Tournament: Venezuela wins first title! Polymarket predictions go wrong, but some traders profit over 10 million TWD

Preventing insider trading and ethical controversies, U.S. lawmakers push for comprehensive regulation

Although prediction markets promote high participation, their gambling-like nature has sparked ethical debates and concerns over insider trading. For example, Polymarket has listed extreme contracts such as nuclear weapons detonations, which have caused social backlash.

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff proposed the “Death Bet Ban,” explicitly prohibiting the listing of prediction contracts involving terrorism, war, assassination, and personal death to prevent insiders from profiting using confidential information and to safeguard national security. Another senator, Richard Blumenthal, is also pushing legislation to ensure the safety and integrity of prediction markets and combat fraud.

With congressional intervention and the CFTC officially regulating prediction markets, the era of unregulated prediction markets will come to an end.

Further reading:
Taiwan 2026 local elections: prediction markets bet on an 88% win rate for the Kuomintang, but betting may violate election laws