Two U.S. senators have introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at banning sports betting on prediction markets.
The Utah News Dispatch reports Senators Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, and John Curtis, a Utah Republican, introduced the “Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act” March 23. If passed, it would prevent certain futures trading entities from listing prediction contracts that resemble a sports bet.
Prediction market traders can buy and sell contracts, based on predictions through markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, even in states like Utah that have not legalized sports betting.
Curtis said the act “is about respecting states’ authority, protecting families, and keeping speculative financial products out of spaces where they don’t belong.”
The Athletic reports these prediction markets are federally regulated like financial exchanges, which means they can operate in all 50 states. Traditional sports bets are not federally regulated and are only legal in 39 states, as well as Washington, D.C.
Prediction markets have been on the rise under President Donald Trump’s administration after Pres. Biden banned Polymarket from operating in the U.S.
But, some states have started their own regulation on the companies.
Arizona became the first state to bring criminal charges against Kalshi March 16. ESPN reports state prosecutors filed a 20-count complaint accusing the company of accepting illegal bets on sports and elections in violation of state laws.
On March 20, a Nevada district court granted state gaming regulators a 14-day restraining order against Kalshi with its next hearing April 3.
