The National Football League wrote to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission demanding a minimum age of 21 for trading contracts on sports events. The NBA and NCAA took the same position — all three leagues have dealt with insider trading over the past 12 months.
In its submission the NFL called the CFTC's proposed rules insufficient to protect the integrity of sport. The league wants a full ban on micro-bets, player props and awards markets that a single person can control. It also called for stronger measures against insider trading and a registry of banned bettors for each league.
In June the CFTC published a 267-page draft setting criteria for determining whether contracts on sports events are lawful. The public comment period closed 27 July.
Against that backdrop the New York Mets signed a partnership with prediction market operator Novig — the first such deal in Major League Baseball franchises. Mets owner Steve Cohen is investing $8.1 billion in the Metropolitan Park casino project with Hard Rock International. Matt Bakowicz, a professor at American University, sees no contradiction: 'Prediction markets sit at the intersection of finance, gaming and fan engagement.'
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a $36 billion lawsuit against Kalshi, accusing the platform of illegal gambling and tax evasion. The American Gaming Association estimates sports-event markets have already cost US states more than $1.2 billion in tax revenue. New York has collected about $3.5 billion in sports betting tax since 2022.
A federal court in Minnesota blocked the country's first outright ban on prediction markets, which was due to take effect 1 August. Judge Kate Menendez ruled that federal law pre-empts state law. In Wisconsin, by contrast, a court allowed authorities to apply local gambling statutes against Kalshi and four other platforms.
