Rhode Island weighs event contract bill as Gillibrand pushes prediction market oversight
Rhode Island's General Assembly is considering legislation addressing event contracts and prediction market platforms during its January session, according to a post that surfaced Sunday. The bill is identified as S/H [Number] and covers event contracts that facilitate trading on outcomes. Separately, Senator Gillibrand is calling for more oversight of prediction markets, citing concerns that event contracts are susceptible to manipulation or abuse. She wants the industry to focus on listing contracts with clear economic use cases. US Senate Democrats are also pressuring a federal agency to increase oversight of prediction markets, though no specific agency or senators were identified in that report.
Rhode Island's bill adds another state-level threat to platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Any state statute that criminalizes event contracts forces those platforms to geofence residents or face felony exposure regardless of their CFTC registration status.
Rhode Island joins Minnesota and New Mexico among states moving against prediction market platforms even as federal regulators fight to preserve CFTC preemption.