Prediction markets, which allow people to put money on everything from elections to sporting events, have grown into a multibillion dollar industry. Their rapid expansion has triggered a wave of lawsuits over one fundamental question: who gets to regulate them, states or the federal government?
States argue many of the contracts offered on prediction market platforms are simply another form of gambling and fall under state gaming laws. Prediction market companies contend that their contracts are financial products that should be regulated under federal commodities law.
In this video, we explain how prediction markets work, why states and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission disagree over who has authority to regulate them, how courts have responded to the growing number of lawsuits, and why the answers could reshape the future of sports betting, event contracts, and prediction markets in the US.