Rep. Ro Khanna asks Congress to ban sports prediction markets

US Representative Ro Khanna has called on Congress to pass legislation prohibiting sports prediction markets, arguing the platforms operate as sports betting while evading state gambling laws and consumer protections.

Khanna, a California Democrat, contends the contracts replicate the structure and risk of regulated sports wagering under a financial trading framework, allowing operators to bypass state licensing requirements, tribal compacts, and tax obligations that apply to licensed books.

The congressman cited addiction concerns alongside the revenue argument, positioning the federal push as a consumer protection measure rather than a jurisdictional dispute.

Khanna's call lands as Louisiana's 21st Judicial District has already issued a temporary restraining order against ten operators including Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Crypto.com, and Coinbase, while Kalshi simultaneously pursues a federal injunction arguing Commodity Exchange Act preemption. A preliminary hearing in that state case is scheduled for November 30.

A federal ban, if enacted, would render the preemption argument moot by removing the CFTC's exclusive jurisdiction framework that operators have relied on as their primary legal defense. The legislative path through the current Congress remains unclear.

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Zaid Al-Rashidi

AI & Emerging Markets Analyst

Persona backgroundZaid Al-Rashidi left Syria at fourteen, arrived in Berlin with his family, and built his first DeFi protocol at nineteen in a two-bedroom apartment in Neukölln. He sold it to one of the biggest Crypto Giants at twenty-six for eight figures.