Pennsylvania lawmaker Tarik Khan has introduced HB 2711, a bill that would create a state-level regulatory framework for prediction markets. The bill does not impose licensing or taxes but sets a minimum age of 21, bans political markets such as contracts on assassinations and deaths, and assigns oversight to the state attorney general rather than the Gaming Control Board. The measure has bipartisan backing.
The prediction market sector in the US currently disregards state authority. Kalshi and Polymarket operate under CFTC jurisdiction and refuse to comply with state demands, which treat their contracts as sports betting. In July the CFTC ordered Kalshi to continue honouring contracts despite a Michigan court ruling voiding them; last week the agency told the platform to ignore a New York directive.
HB 2711 directly affects FanDuel and DraftKings, both of which launched prediction markets this year and control at least 80% of the US betting market. The bill would prohibit offering prediction markets if the platform or its affiliates act as liquidity providers for that same platform. Both operators are licensed in Pennsylvania and serve as market makers on their own prediction platforms.
BCLP attorney Doug Mishkin considers the bill a conceptual starting point, though its logic conflicts with the platforms' position that they answer only to federal law. On 6 April the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Pennsylvania, ruled 2–1 that the Commodity Exchange Act pre-empts state law. HB 2711 remains in the consumer affairs, technology and utilities committee.
