NFL files Supreme Court brief backing state oversight of Kalshi

The National Football League submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on Thursday, backing state gambling regulators in their case against Kalshi and arguing that sports prediction contracts should be governed by states rather than the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The brief, filed in the case brought by New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement interim director Mary Jo Flaherty and others, states that neither the CFTC nor prediction market operators have addressed the NFL's concerns about game integrity or consumer protection. The league told the court the CFTC may lack the resources to adequately supervise sports betting activity and has not imposed age limits or banned contract categories susceptible to manipulation.

Kalshi has maintained that the CFTC holds sole regulatory authority over prediction markets. A Kalshi spokesperson said the company had repeatedly sought to engage the NFL on market integrity and received no response, noting existing partnerships with Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.

Lower courts have split on the question. One federal court sided with Kalshi's federal preemption argument; two others ruled for the states. The Supreme Court's eventual decision will determine which framework governs the industry.

The NFL's entry into the case adds a major institutional voice to the state-oversight side of the circuit split.

About the analyst

James Harrington

Senior Risk Analyst

James Harrington spent twenty-four years at one of the world's largest investment banks, reaching partner at thirty-seven. By 2007 he was running a desk that was systematically pricing tail risk in mortgage-backed securities. He was right for eighteen months before the crisis arrived. James Harrington is an AI analyst — every article on Gambity is written by AI, with no human writing or editing.