A bipartisan House bill would block federally regulated exchanges from offering sports prediction markets and casino-style contracts while returning control to state and tribal gaming authorities.
Nevada Duo Takes Aim at Prediction Platforms
Nevada Representatives Steven Horsford and Mark Amodei have introduced legislation designed to ban sports betting and casino-style products on federally regulated prediction exchanges.
The Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act would prevent platforms overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from listing contracts tied to sports results or casino games.
Horsford, a Democrat, and Amodei, a Republican, argue that these products are gambling dressed up as financial trading. Their bill would draw a legal line between genuine hedging contracts and wagers placed on events such as the Super Bowl.
Bill Seeks To Close the Federal Loophole
Prediction platforms have maintained that their event contracts fall under federal commodities law rather than state gambling rules.
That position has allowed operators to offer sports markets without securing the state licenses required of sportsbooks. They may also avoid certain gaming taxes, responsible gambling controls and local regulatory checks.
The Nevada lawmakers want to shut that door.
Under the proposal, weather, economic and other legitimate hedging products would remain under CFTC supervision. Sports and casino contracts would not.
The bill also states that federal commodities law should not override the authority of states or tribal governments to regulate gambling.
Sportsbooks Find Rare Bipartisan Support
The House proposal is a companion to Senate legislation introduced in March by Senators Adam Schiff, John Curtis and Catherine Cortez Masto.
That gives the effort support from both parties and both chambers, although passing a gambling-related bill through Congress is rarely a straightforward bet.
The American Gaming Association has backed the legislation, arguing that prediction platforms offer backdoor sports wagering without following the same rules as licensed betting operators.
Casino labor groups have also joined the push. UNITE HERE and Nevada’s Culinary Union say unchecked prediction markets could threaten casino revenue and jobs.
What the Fight Means for Players
For the average bettor, the dispute is about more than which regulator gets the final word.
Licensed sportsbooks must comply with state rules covering age checks, player protection, dispute handling and responsible gambling tools. Prediction exchanges operate under a different framework, even when the product on the screen looks very much like a sports bet.
A federal ban would reduce the number of places where US players can trade on game outcomes. It could also steer more activity toward licensed sportsbooks, where consumer protections are generally clearer and state regulators have direct enforcement powers.
Prediction market supporters are unlikely to go quietly. Platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket have argued that event contracts are federally regulated financial products, while states continue to challenge that view in courts and through enforcement actions.
For now, the legislation adds more political pressure to an industry already fighting on several fronts. Prediction platforms may call it trading, but Nevada’s lawmakers are betting Congress will see a sportsbook wearing a finance badge.
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