SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey and dozens of other states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case about sports betting, as well as prediction markets that take action on sporting events.
Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket let users put money on outcomes of all sorts of events, including sports. Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said Kalshi ironically markets itself as legal in all 50 states while ignoring all the laws.
“If you look at how they operate, they refuse to follow the gaming laws in any of the states,” said Davenport.
For example, Kalshi allows users as young as 18 years old, while New Jersey state law dictates 21 as the minimum gambling age. The Garden State also has some restrictions to prevent insider trading, fraud and addiction.
As it currently stands, Davenport said prediction markets have been operating under a loophole that must be closed. In addition, she said this also puts legitimate sports betting platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel at a competitive disadvantage, because they actually follow state gaming laws.
“States regulate gambling and not the federal government,” she said.
Kalshi says it’s under the jurisdiction of congressional Commodity Futures Trading Commission laws, which govern financial markets, and not individual state laws for sports betting. It’s unclear if or when the Supreme Court will decide to hear arguments in this case.
