Federal oversight needed for prediction markets, gambling council says

National Council on Problem Gambling calls for federal oversight of prediction markets

The National Council on Problem Gambling formally escalated its position on prediction markets at its annual conference in Washington, calling on federal regulators to apply problem gambling safeguards to event-contract platforms operating under CFTC jurisdiction.

The council, which had previously limited itself to monitoring the sector, now wants platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket to adopt the same consumer protection standards required of licensed sportsbooks — deposit limits, self-exclusion registries, and mandatory responsible gambling messaging.

The shift matters because the CFTC's current framework for event contracts contains no problem gambling provisions. The agency regulates these platforms as derivatives exchanges, a classification that has so far kept them outside the consumer protection architecture that state gambling regulators enforce on sports betting operators.

The council's move gives state attorneys general — several of whom have already filed cease-and-desist orders against prediction market operators — an additional line of argument. Federal oversight without federal consumer protections is a gap that litigation can enter.