Senate Bill Targets Prediction Markets as Gambling
The Facts
- U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) introduced the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act on Monday, the first bipartisan Senate bill seeking to regulate prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.
- The bill, which comes after prediction market trading volume surpassed $4.5 billion during Super Bowl week this year, would bar any entity registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from listing contracts tied to sporting events or casino-style games.
- Schiff said the CFTC is "greenlighting these markets and even promoting their growth," while Curtis said "too many young people" are being exposed to "addictive sports betting and casino-style gaming contracts that belong under state control."
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The Spin
Narrative A
Sports prediction contracts are just sports bets with a fancy name, and letting them operate in all 50 states — including states where gambling is outright banned — is a regulatory loophole that cheats states out of revenue and ignores tribal sovereignty. The CFTC has abandoned its own 15-year enforcement record by greenlighting these markets instead of shutting them down. Congress must pass this vital regulation now.
Narrative B
Prediction markets are federally regulated exchanges that major leagues like MLB and the NHL are actively partnering with to build real integrity frameworks. MLB, for instance, locked in data-sharing agreements with the CFTC and Polymarket to restrict risky markets and protect the game, proving that this system works well. Banning these markets would kill a legitimate, transparent industry that's already earned its place.
Public Figures
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