ESPN Updates Talent Guidelines to Bar Insider Betting on Prediction Markets Including Polymarket

ESPN has added prediction markets to its existing guidelines about TV talents being prohibited from insider betting, Front Office Sports has learned.

Last week, the network’s talent department circulated a memo, reviewed by Front Office Sports, to on-air employees containing general guidelines for social media posting, political commentary, and sports betting. The timing of the memo lined up with several days before the midterm elections, with political tensions expected to be high.

Much of what was in the memo was not different from past years. But the memo also specified that talents are not allowed to bet on sports news where they have non-public information as a result of their jobs at ESPN, including on prediction markets, “including Polymarket.” While Polymarket is named in the memo, Kalshi is not.

Examples in the memo of such bets include awards votes, player personnel decisions, and sports media deals—bets you might see listed as options on prediction markets.

An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment.

Update From 2023 Policy

The prediction-market language is an update from a policy originally distributed to ESPN talents in 2023, ahead of the launch of the now-defunct ESPNBet.

As first covered by The Action Network at the time, ESPN’s policy prohibits reporters from utilizing, disclosing, and providing access to “non-public information … for any betting-related purposes, including influencing others to place bets or disclosing such information to any sportsbook operator.”

Talents are also not permitted to bet on games where they’re assigned to be covering, and insider reporters are banned entirely from wagering on the sports they cover.