A bipartisan group of Nevada lawmakers has introduced new federal legislation that would prohibit prediction market platforms from offering sports betting and casino-style event contracts under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), intensifying the growing political battle over the future of event-based trading in the United States.
Representatives Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) unveiled the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act in the House of Representatives, arguing that platforms offering sports-related event contracts are effectively operating as gambling businesses while avoiding the licensing requirements, taxation and consumer protection rules imposed on regulated sportsbooks and casinos. The bill was formally introduced on 22 July and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
If passed, the legislation would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to prevent federally regulated exchanges from listing contracts tied to sporting events or casino-style games, while preserving the CFTC’s authority over legitimate financial hedging products. Supporters say the measure is designed to close what they describe as a regulatory loophole that allows prediction market operators to bypass state gaming laws.
The House proposal mirrors companion legislation introduced in the Senate earlier this year by Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), John Curtis (R-Utah) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). That bill remains under consideration in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Nevada lawmakers argue that sports prediction contracts should be regulated in the same way as traditional sports betting, with oversight remaining in the hands of state gaming regulators and tribal authorities rather than federal financial regulators. They also contend that the expansion of prediction markets has reduced tax revenue for states with legal gambling industries while creating an uneven competitive environment for licensed operators.
The legislation has received backing from Nevada’s Culinary Union, which represents roughly 60,000 hospitality workers. Union leaders warn that the continued growth of federally regulated prediction markets could undermine jobs connected to the state’s casino industry and erode the regulatory framework that has supported Nevada’s gaming sector for decades.
The proposal arrives amid an increasingly contentious legal and regulatory landscape. Nevada has already pursued enforcement actions against several prediction market operators, including Polymarket, with a state court granting a preliminary injunction earlier this year that blocks the platform from offering sports, election and entertainment event contracts within the state while litigation continues.
At the federal level, however, the CFTC has continued to defend its authority over prediction markets, maintaining that event contracts fall within its exclusive jurisdiction under the Commodity Exchange Act. The agency argues that these markets serve legitimate financial and risk-management purposes, setting up an ongoing clash between federal regulators and states seeking tighter control over sports-related event trading.