(José Niño, Headline USA) A cross-party coalition of U.S. legislators has put forward a measure that would ban wagering on athletic events through prediction exchanges, specifically aimed at services like Polymarket and Kalshi.
The measure unveiled Monday would “bar any entity registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from listing or facilitating transactions linked to sporting events or athletic competitions,” the New York Post reported Monday.
Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California and Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah jointly backed the proposal, Breitbart noted. This marks the initial instance of any congressional representative attempting to restrict gambling expansion in recent years.
The proposal arrives following criminal accusations filed by Arizona’s top prosecutor against Kalshi, claiming the digital futures exchange ran an unlawful betting enterprise according to Arizona statutes.
“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 declared.
Schiff contended that futures exchanges mislead customers. “Sports prediction contracts are sports bets — just with a different name. And yet, these contracts have been offered in all fifty states in clear violation of state and federal law. Rather than enforce the law, the CFTC is greenlighting these markets and even promoting their growth. It’s time for Congress to step in.”
Kalshi voiced surprise at the proposal.
“Banning sports on regulated prediction markets would just push this behavior offshore, where no regulation exists,” the firm informed the Post Monday. “It’s clear this bill is motivated by casino interests that are threatened by competition.”
Though Schiff and Curtis contend that Kalshi, Polymarket, and similar futures operations represent disguised gambling ventures, futures exchanges function under distinct regulations from conventional wagering operations.
“While sports betting is typically overseen at the state level, prediction markets use financial instruments such as futures and commodity contracts, placing them under federal jurisdiction. Recent months have seen lawmakers, state governments and federal regulators debate about who should have oversight of event and sports contracts on prediction platforms,” the Post clarified.
These futures services have nonetheless drawn criticism for dramatically broadening their scope. They encountered opposition for accepting wagers on recent U.S. Venezuela actions, the Iran conflict, and have progressively moved into athletic betting territories.
The suggested measure would additionally ban wagers on casino entertainment like poker and blackjack.
The authority dispute between state wagering regulators and federal commodity watchdogs has generated an ambiguous zone that prediction exchanges have leveraged to provide offerings functioning like athletic wagers while asserting immunity from state gambling statutes. This measure constitutes a legislative effort to eliminate that regulatory loophole and reinstate state control over what detractors label as wagering under a different guise.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
