The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) has addressed concerns to Kalshi, a federally recognized prediction market operator, regarding the integrity of its contests and how it portrays its association with the governing body for college sports.

In a letter dated October 30, Scott Bearby, the NCAA’s Chief Legal Officer and Senior Vice President, requested clarification from Kalshi on how it oversees the integrity of its college sports betting markets, identifies prohibited users, and plans to report any suspicious activities or assist in NCAA inquiries.

The NCAA further urged Kalshi to eliminate betting markets akin to proposition bets, which the company recently introduced this fall. Bearby noted that such markets increase the potential for “integrity and harassment concerns,” especially for student-athletes.

Concerns were also raised about phrasing on Kalshi’s website that the NCAA believes suggests a partnership between the two organizations. Bearby stated that the term “Outcome verified from NCAA” could “significantly damage the value and reputation of the NCAA brand.”

The NCAA has recommended that Kalshi revise the phrasing to “Outcome sourced from NCAA.com” and include a clear disclaimer indicating that no relationship exists between the two entities.

“We appreciate Kalshi’s commitment to ensuring the integrity of NCAA competitions and mitigating cases of abuse and harassment against student-athletes and other participants,” Bearby stated.

A spokesperson for Kalshi informed ESPN that the company is reviewing the NCAA’s suggestions and has begun revising its website.

“Kalshi possesses strong market integrity measures as required by our status as a federally licensed financial exchange,” the spokesperson remarked. “We value the feedback from the NCAA and are in the process of modifying the language on our site.”

Established as a prediction market platform, Kalshi enables users to trade outcomes of real-world events, including college basketball and football. The company is currently embroiled in lawsuits from state regulators claiming that its event-based contracts constitute illegal sports betting. Kalshi asserts that it is regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and not by state authorities.

Earlier this year, Kalshi formed a partnership with IC360, an integrity monitoring service utilized by major collegiate and professional sports leagues to enhance its compliance framework.

The NCAA’s letter comes at a time of increased scrutiny over betting activities involving college athletes. In September, the organization revealed that a player from the Fresno State men’s basketball team was implicated in manipulating his performance as part of a prop betting scheme, amidst around 30 ongoing investigations involving current and former players.