NFL Pressures Supreme Court, Backs State Regulation of Prediction Markets

On October 9, TechFlow reported, citing CoinDesk, that the National Football League (NFL) recently filed a legal brief with the U.S. Supreme Court openly opposing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) claim of exclusive federal regulatory authority over prediction markets such as Kalshi, asserting that this authority should reside with state and tribal regulators. In the filing, the NFL stated that it had previously raised concerns with the CFTC regarding gambling compliance but received no substantive response, arguing that the current federal regulatory framework is insufficient to safeguard game integrity and consumer protections.

The NFL explicitly noted that, compared to the stringent regulatory frameworks implemented at the state level, companies operating under CFTC supervision face numerous vulnerabilities, such as the potential for betting outcomes to be manipulated by individual player decisions, the continued allowance of wagers from individuals under 21 years old, and the CFTC's lack of sufficient enforcement personnel, which prevents rigorous monitoring comparable to state agencies. The league emphasized that as sports betting continues to expand across various states, its primary objective is to mitigate these risks.

In this jurisdictional dispute, the NFL has secured broad cross-partisan support. Native American tribes, numerous state governments, former CFTC Chair Gary Gensler, and Senator Chris Dodd have all submitted comments advocating for state-level regulation. Chris Dodd emphasized that the Dodd-Frank Act was never intended to launch nationwide sports betting through derivatives markets; Gary Gensler likewise refuted the arguments of the current CFTC chair, reiterating that Congress never planned to transfer betting jurisdiction from the states to the federal level.