Bipartisan Legislation Seeks to Regulate Prediction Markets as Traditional Gambling
Written by Vera Klein · Jul 29, 2026
Bipartisan Legislation Seeks to Regulate Prediction Markets as Traditional Gambling
In July 2026 Representatives Steven Horsford of Nevada and Mark Amodei of Nevada introduced the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act as a bipartisan measure in the House, and the bill targets federally registered platforms overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by prohibiting them from offering sports and casino-style event contracts.
The legislation treats those contracts like traditional sportsbooks that fall under state and tribal regulation, while the measure arrives as a companion to a Senate bill that entered consideration earlier in March, and together the pair aims to close a regulatory loophole that has allowed certain prediction markets to operate outside established gaming frameworks.
Core Provisions of the House Bill
The Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act would bar platforms registered with the CFTC from listing contracts tied to sports outcomes or casino-style events, and it redirects oversight toward state and tribal authorities that already manage licensed sportsbooks, which means operators would need to comply with licensing, consumer protection rules, and tax obligations that apply to conventional gambling venues.
Supporters argue the change would restore uniformity across jurisdictions because current federal registration has created an uneven playing field where some platforms avoid state-level requirements that sportsbooks must meet, yet the bill stops short of banning prediction markets outright and instead channels them into the existing regulatory structure.
Revenue and Industry Impact Figures
State and tribal gaming authorities have reported an estimated shortfall exceeding one billion dollars in tax revenue tied to sports betting activities that have shifted to prediction market platforms, and this figure reflects losses accumulated as certain event contracts gained traction without contributing to the same tax base that supports regulated operators in states like Nevada.
The American Gaming Association has endorsed the measure along with UNITE HERE and the Culinary Workers Union, and these groups point to the need for consistent consumer protections that licensed sportsbooks already provide, including age verification, responsible gaming tools, and dispute resolution processes that state regulators enforce.
Nevada's Position and Regulatory Context
Nevada's regulated gaming industry stands to benefit from clearer boundaries because the state's sportsbooks operate under strict licensing and contribute directly to state and local tax revenues, and the bill's backers note that prediction market contracts have drawn activity away from these licensed channels without the same level of oversight.
Observers note that the measure aligns wth ongoing efforts by Nevada officials to protect the integrity of the state's gaming sector, which has long served as a model for regulated sports betting across the country, while the legislation also seeks to ensure that consumer safeguards remain consistent regardless of the platform used to place wagers on sports or event outcomes.
Companion Senate Bill and Legislative Timeline
The House bill follows a Senate version introduced in March 2026 that addresses the same regulatory gap, and both pieces of legislation reflect bipartisan interest in aligning federal treatment of event contracts with state-level gaming rules that have developed since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
Lawmakers from both chambers have cited the need to prevent regulatory arbitrage where platforms choose federal registration to bypass state taxes and licensing, and the paired bills represent a coordinated push to standardize how sports-related and casino-style contracts are classified under law.
Stakeholder Support and Policy Goals
The American Gaming Association has highlighted data on revenue shifts that affect state budgets, while labor organizations such as UNITE HERE and the Culinary Workers Union have emphasized job protections tied to licensed gaming facilities that prediction markets currently bypass.
Proponents of the legislation maintain that treating event contracts as gambling subjects them to the same consumer protections and tax structures already in place for sportsbooks, and this approach would allow states and tribes to capture revenue that has previously flowed outside regulated channels.
Conclusion
The Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act introduced in July 2026 by Representatives Horsford and Amodei marks a targeted effort to integrate certain event contracts into existing state and tribal gaming frameworks, and the measure builds on the earlier Senate companion bill while drawing support from major industry and labor groups concerned with revenue and regulatory consistency.
As the legislation advances, lawmakers and regulators will continue to examine how the bill affects platform operations, state tax collections, and consumer protections across multiple jurisdictions.