Bipartisan bill introduced with the aim of protecting consumers and the integrity of the gaming industry
Nevada Congressmen Steven Horsford (NV-04) and Mark Amodei (NV-02) have introduced a bipartisan bill to ban sports prediction market contracts.
The Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act aims to stop federally regulated trading platforms from offering sports betting and casino-style gambling under the guise of financial products.
The legislation makes clear that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversees legitimate financial markets, not sportsbook-style gambling or casino games, and closes a federal loophole that allows companies to bypass the licensing requirements, consumer protections, tax obligations, and regulatory oversight that apply to legal gaming operators.
The Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act serves as companion legislation to a bill introduced in March by Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), John Curtis (R-UT), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
“This is about protecting jobs, protecting consumers, and protecting the integrity of our gaming industry,” Representative Horsford explained. “Nevada has always been the gold standard for gaming regulations. These companies are exploiting a federal loophole that allows them to effectively sidestep state oversight that every other legal sportsbook must follow.
“They’ve already cost states over $1 billion in lost gaming tax revenue money that should have gone toward funding schools, roads, and critical programs. That’s why I introduced this bill to close the loophole, hold these companies to the same standard, and protect Nevadans.”
Representative Amodei said: “Gaming policy has long been the responsibility of states and tribes, not unelected federal regulators. This bipartisan bill closes a federal loophole that allows sports betting to masquerade as financial trading and ensures legitimate event contracts remain under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.”
The proposed bill would draw a clear line between gambling and hedging, prohibiting sports and casino-style event contracts on federally registered exchanges and protecting legitimate event contracts, such as those relating to weather, economic and similar contracts, which would remain under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.
“Sports prediction contracts are sports bets – just with a different name,” said Senator Schiff. “And yet, these contracts have been offered in all fifty states in clear violation of state and federal law. Rather than enforce the law, the CFTC is greenlighting these markets and even promoting their growth.
“It’s time for Congress to step in and eliminate this backdoor which violates state consumer protections, intrudes upon tribal sovereignty, and offers no public revenue. I’m proud to partner with Senator Curtis, and Representatives Horsford and Amodei to put a stop to these illegal markets.”
Senator Curtis added: “Too many young people in Utah are getting exposed to addictive sports betting and casino-style gaming contracts that belong under state control, not under federal regulators.
“This bipartisan legislation clarifies regulatory jurisdiction, ensuring that states can maintain their authority over sports betting and casino gaming. The Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act is about respecting states’ authority, protecting families, and keeping speculative financial products out of spaces where they don’t belong.”
The bill is also supported by the American Gaming Association.
“This important bill reinforces Congressional intent that gaming is governed by state and tribal law,” said AGA CEO and president Bill Miller. “The AGA applauds Representatives Horsford and Amodei for introducing the companion legislation to Senators Schiff and Curtis.
“Together, these bills represent a bipartisan and bicameral effort to protect consumers, uphold state and tribal authority on regulating gaming, and stop so-called “prediction markets” from offering backdoor sports betting that is siphoning billions of dollars in tax revenue from local communities across America.”
Congressman Horsford is also a cosponsor of HR 7004, Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act, to prohibit federally elected officials and government employees from using insider information to bet on a prediction market contract.