New Jersey, Robinhood, and Crypto.com petition Supreme Court on sports event contract preemption
New Jersey, Robinhood, and Crypto.com have each petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a circuit split over whether federal law governing event contracts preempts state gambling restrictions on sports-linked prediction markets. The petitions seek clarity on the boundary between federal and state oversight following losses in lower federal courts. Kalshi is also involved in the underlying dispute.
Every prediction market operator with a CFTC registration now faces a state-by-state legal siege that fragments national markets and multiplies legal spend. Kalshi has already lost preemption fights in Nevada, Ohio, and Tennessee; Robinhood retreated in Michigan. Each loss becomes precedent the next state copies.
The Supreme Court petitions from New Jersey, Robinhood, and Crypto.com represent the only path to uniform federal rules, but the uncertain timeline leaves months for more state bans. Traders hold positions whose legality shifts with state borders, not regulation. Platforms must choose between costly geofencing and a high-stakes gamble on cert. The first operator to lose outright becomes the template every state AG races to replicate.
Joins New Jersey's parallel petition alongside Kalshi's separate circuit losses in the Ninth and Sixth Circuits, making this the third front where the preemption question is being forced to a head.