Casino lobbyists drafted Maryland regulators' letter to CFTC on prediction markets
Casino lobbyists from the American Gaming Association (AGA) drafted a letter that Maryland gaming regulators sent to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in April 2025. The letter concerned prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, and matched the AGA draft word-for-word, according to reporting from the Baltimore Sun. The disclosure comes as the CFTC weighs oversight of event contracts tied to sports and gaming outcomes.
The AGA ghostwriting revelation arms Kalshi and Polymarket with evidence that state regulatory pressure is Astroturfed by casino incumbents rather than organic enforcement. In pending and future litigation, both platforms can cite the Maryland letter to argue that state actions are commercially motivated attacks dressed in regulatory language. That framing could weaken judicial deference to state gambling claims in Minnesota, Kentucky, and New Mexico, where CFTC preemption suits are already active. The timeline is immediate: any platform facing a state motion in the next 60 days can add the Maryland disclosure to its brief. The stakes are structural. If courts accept that casino lobbying drove state demands, the CFTC's argument for exclusive federal jurisdiction over event contracts gains credibility. The platforms that move first to exploit that narrative will shape whether state gambling enforcement survives federal preemption challenges.