Blumenthal and Tonko expand gambling reform push to prediction markets
Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Paul Tonko are renewing a push for federal gambling reform bills that explicitly include prediction markets. The lawmakers announced the expanded campaign alongside the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) and Families, framing it around consumer protections, industry oversight, and ties among wagering companies, sports organizations, and technology platforms. The legislative push comes as prediction market platforms expand in the US and face escalating state-level enforcement actions.
Federal legislation would give CFTC-registered platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket a single standard to defend instead of fighting state-by-state shutdowns in Connecticut, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee. Blumenthal and Tonko's bills could preempt the patchwork that currently fragments liquidity and multiplies legal spend faster than any court case resolves. The lawmakers are framing the push around consumer protections and industry oversight, adding congressional pressure while courts weigh competing preemption claims.
For traders, federal rules would mean positions stay legal across state lines instead of shifting with geography. Platform compliance costs would consolidate, but so would regulatory reach. The bills face long odds in a divided Congress, yet their introduction alone signals that federal lawmakers see prediction markets as gambling-adjacent rather than derivatives-pure. That framing shift matters for how the CFTC itself treats contract design and odds presentation going forward.