Senators Propose Bill to Ban Sports Event Contracts on Prediction Market Platforms

^{Two senators in Utah and California are seeking to ban sports-related contracts offered on prediction market platforms like Kalshi. (Photo: Davide Bonaldo / Alamy)}

Two US senators introduced a bill on Monday that would prevent prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket from offering contracts tied to sporting events nationwide.

The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Adam Schiff (D-California) and John Curtis (R-Utah), is known as the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act. It attacks prediction markets on the federal level, where they have long maintained is the only place where they can be regulated.

Senators: Sports Contracts Just Betting ‘With a Different Name’

Sports betting and other forms of gambling have traditionally been regulated exclusively at the state level. However, Kalshi and other prediction markets have argued that they do not need to comply with state-level sports betting regulations, as they offer financial products that are solely regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under the Commodity Exchange Act.

State officials and regulators are fighting the prediction platforms on this point in lawsuits across the country, including a recent case in which the state of Arizona filed misdemeanor criminal charges against Kalshi. But the proposed Senate legislation would definitively change what these platforms are allowed to offer by amending the Commodity Exchange Act itself.

“Sports prediction contracts are sports bets – just with a different name,” Schiff said in a statement. “Rather than enforce the law, the CFTC is greenlighting these markets and even promoting their growth. It’s time for Congress to step in and eliminate this backdoor which violates state consumer protections, intrudes upon tribal sovereignty, and offers no public revenue.”

Senator Curtis, whose state is among those involved in legal action against prediction markets, said that the legislation is necessary and “about respecting states’ authority.”

“Too many young people in Utah are getting exposed to addictive sports betting and casino-style gaming contracts that belong under state control, not under federal regulators,” Curtis said in a statement. “Our bipartisan legislation clarifies regulatory jurisdiction, ensuring that states can maintain their authority over sports betting and casino gaming.”

Bill Arrives Just as MLB Announces Partnership with Polymarket

The senators note that sports event contracts are available in all 50 states, including those with complete prohibitions on sports betting. The sites also don’t have to get the same licenses or meet the same requirements as regulated sportsbooks or tribal gaming offerings.

Senator Schiff also introduced the DEATH BETS Act earlier this month, which would prevent any CFTC-registered entity from offering event contracts related to terrorism, assassination, war, or the death of an individual.

The proposal comes at a time when prediction markets are expanding their reach into sports. 

Last week, Major League Baseball announced its official partnership with Polymarket, granting the platform exclusive access to use MLB logos and official league data in its prediction markets. Additionally, MLB said that it had reached a memorandum of understanding with CFTC Chair Michael Selig to “further protect the integrity of baseball by ensuring swift response to incidents and anticipating emerging trends more strongly.”

The MLB and the CFTC have framed this as a win for the integrity of the sport, but others in the gaming industry are skeptical.

“A multi-hundred million-dollar partnership or a memorandum of understanding with the CFTC doesn’t make an unlawful business model legitimate,” American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller said in a statement. “Sports betting – by any name – is not under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.”