A bipartisan group of 41 attorneys general, co-led by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, is urging federal regulators to reaffirm that jurisdiction over sports-related "event contracts” belongs to states.
"This is gambling, no matter how they try to dress it up – and that means it belongs under state jurisdiction,” Yost said. "States have a longstanding right and responsibility to protect their citizens from the dangers of gambling, whether it’s on a prediction market or a casino floor.”
The attorneys general today filed a formal comment with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, arguing that prediction markets – platforms where users trade contracts on the outcome of future events – have effectively become unregulated sportsbooks.
"Any distinction between sportsbook bets and prediction-market bets is illusory,” the letter says. "On so-called ‘prediction markets,’ users can make all the same wagers they can make at a traditional sportsbook.”
The platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi, allow users to place wagers on game winners, point spreads and player statistics, bypassing the consumer protections and tax requirements mandated by state gambling laws.
Because the contracts are considered entertainment-based gambling rather than tools for financial risk management, they fall outside the CFTC’s jurisdiction, the coalition says. The letter notes that gambling regulation is a state power under well-established case law.
https://thevwindependent.com/news/2026/04/30/yost-urging-state-authority-over-prediction-markets/