- The Dodgers, Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves have quietly activated sponsorship deals with Kalshi without making formal announcements.
- The New York Mets faced heavy backlash after publicly announcing a partnership with Novig, which may have influenced how other MLB teams promote similar deals.
- Prediction markets continue to face criticism from state regulators, tribal gaming groups, and the public as concerns about sports betting grow across the US.
Prediction market platform Kalshi has secured sponsorship deals with two of Major League Baseball’s most valuable teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. However, neither team issued a press release or made a major social media announcement.
The quiet rollouts took place in August 2026 and appear to be intentional. Teams may be trying to avoid the online backlash that other MLB clubs have faced after publicly promoting prediction market partnerships.
Flying Under the Radar, By Design
The Dodgers began showing Kalshi branding on their digital outfield signs earlier in August. The team later added a Kalshi decal behind home plate during Friday and Sunday games.
The Red Sox took a different approach. Kalshi’s logo appeared in a social media graphic promoting a series against the San Francisco Giants. The team also promoted the platform to fans through a marketing email.
Neither team formally announced its partnership. The Atlanta Braves used a similar strategy around the beginning of August. Kalshi signs appeared behind home plate during select home games, but the move received little attention from the media.
The Mets’ Cautionary Tale, and Why Prediction Markets Are Generating Backlash
The quiet approach makes more sense when looking at what happened to the New York Mets in July. The Mets publicly announced a partnership with prediction market app Novig on X. The announcement quickly received angry responses from fans.
The team deleted the original post and tried again. However, the second post did not go much better and received far more negative responses than likes.
The reaction may have created a new unofficial strategy for MLB teams: activate prediction market sponsorships quietly, collect the revenue, and avoid a social media backlash. Kalshi and rival platforms such as Polymarket operate differently from traditional sportsbooks. Polymarket also has an official partnership with MLB.
Prediction markets are federally regulated exchanges and describe their products as financial instruments instead of traditional sports bets.
That difference has created major disputes. State governments and tribal gaming groups argue that some prediction markets are offering unregulated gambling products while presenting them as financial assets. The regulatory fight has even reached the US Supreme Court, so more developments feel inevitable.
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