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Two Nevada members of Congress have introduced a federal bill that would bar prediction markets from offering sports-related contracts, a move that could reshape how companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket operate in the US.
According to The Lines, Rep. Steven Horsford and Rep. Mark Amodei introduced the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act. The proposal would explicitly prevent prediction markets from taking action on sporting events and require legal sports betting to follow state laws instead.
Horsford said in support of the measure that “Nevada has always been the gold standard for gaming regulations.” He also argued that prediction market operators are “exploiting a federal loophole” to avoid the state oversight that licensed sportsbooks must follow.
The debate centers on whether sports event contracts should be treated like federally regulated financial products or gambling subject to state-by-state betting rules. The article says the federal government has argued that prediction markets fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while the new bill would draw a clearer line against sports offerings.
That could be significant for operators already active in the space. The Lines reported that prediction markets accounted for about 25% of all action on World Cup matches, underscoring how large the category has become.
For sports bettors, the immediate takeaway is that nothing changes yet. The bill has only been introduced, and Congress is in summer recess, with no new bills expected to be considered before Aug. 31, according to the report.
A similar Senate bill has also been introduced by Sen. John Curtis of Utah and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. Still, the path forward remains uncertain. The Lines reported that President Donald Trump would be likely to veto this type of legislation if it reached his desk.
The biggest question now is whether Congress moves to close what supporters call a loophole for sports prediction markets, or whether the current split between federal oversight and state sports betting rules remains in place.
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Source: As reported by Dan Angell.
