Nevada congressmen introduce draft bill to ban prediction markets

• Nevada Congressmen Steven Horsford (D) and Mark Amodei (R) have introduced a bipartisan federal bill that would ban prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi from offering sports betting and casino-style games
• The bill argues these platforms exploit a federal loophole, letting sports betting "masquerade" as financial trading under CFTC oversight instead of following state gaming laws
• The move deepens an ongoing clash between state gaming regulators and prediction market operators, with more developments coming out of Washington, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey

The Nevada Independent, a prominent publication focused on the Silver State and state developments, has recently reported that a pair of U.S. Congressmen representing Nevada, Steven Horsford (Democrat) and Mark Amodei (Republican), have teamed up to file a proposed draft bill that would seek to end sports event contracts, as well as casino-style games offered by the same platforms, targeting Polymarket and Kalshi, as well as any other company offering a similar product.

The publication spoke with the lawmakers exclusively ahead of the bill's official filing last Thursday, with Horsford doubling down on the similarities between prediction markets and sports betting, arguing that:

"When it looks like sports betting, it acts like sports betting, and profits from sports betting, then it should follow the same rules as every other sportsbook."

Horsford explained that there is a strong rationale behind the proposed draft law, explaining that the gaming industry has been supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and generating revenue that helps with public funding in key areas such as infrastructure, education, public safety, and other essential services.

The bill seeks to establish that it is only states and tribes that have the legal right to regulate gaming in any form, with prediction markets identified as a product that exploits a federal loophole and one that, as Amodei put it, allows sports betting to "masquerade" as financial trading.

The argument against is familiar, with prediction market operators claiming that their products cannot really be regulated under the terms of gaming laws, as the business model falls under the remit of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Another reason for the conflict stems from the fact that while prediction markets want to offer event contracts on pretty much everything - from the weather to political races- they are disproportionately and consistently driving the bulk of their revenue (90%) from sports.

"Regardless of which app a consumer uses, they deserve the same protection, and that has been the gold standard of regulation that Nevada has been built on, and it's what we are working to ensure is protected," Horsford told The Nevada Independent in outlining why it was important to ensure that prediction markets are codified in state laws, exactly as a form of gambling.

While Horsford and Amodei have been pushing for laws that would keep prediction markets at bay, other states have worked in parallel to at least tax prediction markets, failing all else with Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

In Washington, a state judge also sided with the state, citing consumer protection harm as a reason to order Kalshi to stop offering its products locally.

Image credit: Unsplash.com