The NFL has asked the US Supreme Court to settle a split among federal appeals courts over who regulates sports prediction markets. The league is contesting the Third Circuit's finding that Kalshi's sports contracts fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Sixth and Ninth Circuits reached the opposite conclusion.
Two questions are before the court: whether sports event contracts qualify as 'swaps' under the Commodity Exchange Act, and whether federal law preempts state gambling statutes. The NFL argues Congress never stripped states of the right to regulate sports betting on designated contract markets. 39 states and the District of Columbia backed the league, citing licensing, age limits and spending caps.
Contracts on NFL games accounted for $1.8 billion of the $3.3 billion traded on prediction markets on the first Sunday of the season, the league says. Billions pass through such platforms every season, and delay raises risks to game integrity and harms consumers. The NFL wants expedited review blocked until the 2027 season.
The league questions the CFTC's capacity: 543 staff nationwide against almost 400 at gambling regulators in Nevada alone or Pennsylvania. It points to the absence of emergency procedures for suspending contracts when integrity is at risk, and wants a minimum betting age of 21 instead of the federal 18.
Kalshi and Polymarket rejected the claims, saying the CFTC actively supervises the markets and is drafting new rules. Americans For Fair Markets said the NFL walked away from a cooperation and data-sharing agreement with the CFTC on market integrity while pressing for tighter oversight.
