Schiff and Curtis introduce bill to ban sports contracts on prediction markets
The Facts
- Senators Adam Schiff and John Curtis introduced a bipartisan bill on Monday aimed at banning prediction markets from offering contracts tied to sporting events.
- The bill is called the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act.
- The legislation would apply to entities regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and would block them from listing sports-related contracts.
- Several reports say the bill would also prohibit casino-style games such as blackjack, poker, bingo, slot machines or video poker on prediction-market platforms.
- The bill is being introduced amid broader disputes between state and federal regulators over how prediction markets should be governed.
- Kalshi and Polymarket announced new guardrails on Monday that would restrict trading by athletes, political candidates and other people who could have conflicts of interest.
Context
What would the bill do if it became law?
It would prevent CFTC-regulated prediction markets from listing contracts tied to sporting events, and multiple reports say it would also bar casino-style games on those platforms NYT,NBC News,Hill.
Why are lawmakers targeting prediction markets now?
The bill follows rising conflict over whether sports-related event contracts on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket should be treated like gambling and regulated by states or by federal authorities ESPN.com,Guardian,WSJ.
What are Kalshi and Polymarket doing in response?
Both platforms announced new restrictions on Monday to limit trading by people who could have inside information or influence outcomes, including athletes and political candidates Investing.com,Daily Mail,Reuters,U.S. News & World R….
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