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California Rep. Ro Khanna urged Congress to ban sports prediction markets on Tuesday, according to The Hill. He argued that the platforms evade state and tribal gambling laws and expose young Americans to addiction risks.
“Congress must ban them,” Khanna wrote on X.
Khanna Cites State and Tribal Gambling Safeguards
Khanna, a Democrat, described sports prediction markets as “sports betting disguised as financial trading.” He accused them of siphoning state tax revenues and operating outside state consumer safeguards.
His criticism centered on both gambling oversight and public health. He said the markets fuel addiction and expose young Americans to public health risks.
Other lawmakers have raised similar concerns. In a July interview with The Hill, Sen. Tim Kaine questioned prediction markets and their potential for insider trading.
“These prediction markets have almost gotten to be like insider trading, which makes me nervous,” Kaine said.
Kaine also criticized sports betting‘s financial toll, particularly on young males.
Earlier Bills Targeted Event Contracts and Online Betting
In March, Sens. Adam Schiff and John Curtis introduced a bipartisan bill targeting prediction-market offerings. It would ban platforms from listing sports event contracts or casino-style games.
Schiff argued that sports prediction contracts amount to sports betting under another name. He also alleged that contracts offered across all 50 states violated state and federal law.
Congress also introduced the SAFE Bet Act the previous year, The Hill reported. That proposal would have required federal regulation of online sports betting, including a ban on gambling advertising during live sporting events.
The SAFE Bet Act did not advance beyond initial actions in March of that year.
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Source: As reported by The Hill.
