US Senators introduce bipartisan bill to ban sports betting on prediction markets
The bill would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to ban prediction contracts related to sports events or casino-style games.
sports betting
A bill introduced in the Senate few days ago would ban prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket from accepting or listing transactions related to sports events and casino-style games.
The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and John Curtis, R-Utah, is the first bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate targeting the rise of sports betting on services like Polymarket and Kalshi. While traditional sports gambling is regulated by states, prediction markets use a different technical trading mechanism, via futures or commodity contracts, that falls under federal oversight.
“Sports prediction contracts are sports bets — just with a different name,” Schiff said in a statement announcing the bill’s introduction. “These contracts are currently offered in all fifty states in clear violation of state and federal law.”
“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,” Schiff said.
Created in 1974, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has the exclusive right under the federal Commodity Exchange Act to regulate futures, options and swaps for registered commodities entities. Several prediction markets, like Kalshi and Polymarket, have registered with the CFTC as a type of derivative exchange called a designated contract market.
The bill would ban any entity registered with the CFTC from listing or making available any “agreement, contract, or transaction relating to any sporting event or athletic competition,” in addition to banning similar contracts for any casino-style game like poker or blackjack.
“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. “The Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act is about respecting states’ authority, protecting families, and keeping speculative financial products out of spaces where they don’t belong.”
Flutter Entertainment, owner of U.S. sports betting giant FanDuel, jumped 7.6%, while London-listed rival Entain, parent of Ladbrokes and BetMGM, climbed 6.4%.
Kalshi has reported sports betting accounting for roughly 90% of its trading volumes. Operating as federally regulated exchanges, the platforms have sidestepped state gambling licensing requirements, a structural advantage that had weighed on traditional operators’ share prices on both sides of the Atlantic for months.
Legal pressure is also mounting at the state level. Arizona filed a 20-count criminal case against Kalshi, while cease-and-desist orders have been issued by 11 states. Flutter’s FanDuel commands approximately 43% of the U.S. sports betting market. Entain’s joint venture BetMGM posted $2.8 billion in revenue in 2025.
Sources: nbcnews.com, investing.com
