CFTC Tells Prediction Markets to Remove American Odds Pricing

^{Ads promoting American gambling odds are no longer allowed to be used by prediction markets like Kalshi in the United States. (Photo: Stu Gray / Alamy)}

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has warned prediction markets not to use American gambling odds on their U.S.-facing websites, according to reporting by Bloomberg on Aug. 7, 2026.

Bloomberg cited a letter it had viewed in which the CFTC told prediction markets regulated in the United States that they were required not to use “deceptive” practices to list or advertise their products, and that they needed to comply with all U.S. laws governing derivative trading.

Predictions or Sports Bets: What are the Odds?

At default, platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket show the contract prices for markets offered on their platforms. For instance, a Kalshi market on the World Series winner – listed as “Pro Baseball Champion” – had the Los Angeles Dodgers trading at 37.1 cents as of Friday afternoon. All contracts pay one dollar if they resolve to yes.

However, prediction markets regularly offered alternative ways to view these prices, including in American odds. These odds – familiar mostly to sports bettors – show potential payouts in relation to $100 units. For instance, odds of +300 would mean that a $100 bet would return a profit of $300 if successful, while odds of -500 mean that a bettor would need to wager $500 to try to win a profit of $100. In the Dodgers example above, a contract at 37.1 cents that pays $1 could also be expressed as having odds of +170.

But with prediction markets increasingly coming under fire from state regulators who say they are little more than sports betting operations under a different name, the CFTC appears to be cracking down on this practice.

It’s not the first effort to distance prediction markets from wagering. Kalshi once frequently used language about odds and betting in its advertising, but has largely removed such language after states began using it against the company in court cases.

As of Friday afternoon, American odds no longer appeared to be available on Kalshi, or on Polymarket’s U.S.-facing app. For Polymarket, that was a distinction from its global website, which still offers betting odds on its markets.

Legal Battles Cast Shadow Over Prediction Market Platforms

However, not all platforms have been so quick to make the switch. DraftKings Predictions still listed its markets in in American odds by default on Friday. Given that DraftKings has built its prediction market platform as an extension of its sportsbook operation – marketing it as a way to use DraftKings in states where sports betting is not regulated – it’s unclear if this is a deeper issue in the platform’s architecture that would take longer to change than for other prediction markets.

The CFTC guidance comes as legal battles continue to be waged across the United States over whether states have the right to enforce gambling laws against prediction markets, or whether the CFTC’s jurisdictional authority is absolute, regardless of contract types or state-level regulations.

Most recently, Utah won a case in federal court, where a judge found that the state can enforce its anti-gambling laws against Kalshi, though the state has yet to determine how it will take action against the prediction market platform.