A number of nationwide gaming and tribal organizations and labor teams have reportedly known as on the US Senate so as to add language “that explicitly prohibits occasion contracts tied to sports activities and casino-style gaming” within the Digital Asset Market Readability (CLARITY) Act.
In accordance with a Wednesday Semafor report, teams tied to sports activities betting, together with the Indian Gaming Affiliation and American Gaming Affiliation have united towards what they known as playing on prediction markets. They requested that the US Congress use the CLARITY Act now into account within the Senate to affirm that “sports activities betting falls exterior the [Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s] remit and can’t be provided via prediction market platforms.”
“Whereas our organizations could differ on different points, together with playing coverage, we’re united in our concern that prediction markets have fueled the most important enlargement of playing in US historical past over the previous 18 months — with out voter approval or legislative authorization,” mentioned the letter.
Supply: Semafor
The pushback from the teams comes because the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) beneath Chair Michael Selig has claimed “unique jurisdiction” over prediction markets. Selig has led the monetary regulator in supporting platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket towards lawsuits by state-level gaming authorities.
“The CFTC was created to supervise commodities and derivatives markets, not playing and never sports activities wagering,” mentioned the letter. “It lacks each the experience and the infrastructure to police nationwide sports activities betting, significantly when sturdy state and tribal regulatory methods exist already.”
The American Gaming Affiliation reported that as of Wednesday, state gaming authorities had misplaced about $1.08 billion in tax {dollars} “since prediction markets started providing sports activities occasion contracts.”
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Some lawmakers anticipate the CLARITY Act, aimed toward transferring a few of the authority in regulation and enforcement of digital property from the Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) to the CFTC, to be handed out of Congress by August. The invoice handed the Home of Representatives in July 2025, however has confronted delays attributable to issues over stablecoin yield, ethics and tokenized equities.
Authorized struggle might land in US Supreme Courtroom
Some specialists and trade advocates anticipate that with Selig and the CFTC threatening to take any state-level authorities to courtroom over crackdowns on prediction markets, the dispute between federal and state regulators might finally be heard by the US Supreme Courtroom.
The nation’s highest courtroom gave particular person states the authority to control sports activities playing in its 2018 determination in Murphy v. Nationwide Collegiate Athletic Affiliation. Nonetheless, Kalshi, Polymarket and the CFTC have largely argued that occasion contracts on prediction market platforms are “swaps” solely topic to the company’s jurisdiction.
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