Sen. John Curtis warns prediction markets undermine Utah's anti-gambling laws
Utah Sen. John Curtis warned at a Senate hearing this week that prediction markets create loopholes in states like Utah that prohibit gambling. Curtis argued the platforms let residents circumvent strict state anti-gambling statutes, framing regulated event-contract platforms as a threat to state-level prohibitions and raising the prospect of federal-state friction as the sector expands nationally. Utah maintains some of the country's strictest gambling prohibitions. Curtis's statement marks a notable federal lawmaker raising state-level enforcement concerns about the fast-growing prediction-market sector.
Curtis's Senate-platform warning gives state-level opponents in Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin a federal voice to cite in court filings and legislative debates. Any congressional hearing record entering the docket strengthens state preemption challenges Kalshi is already fighting in three active jurisdictions.
Joins a multi-front state-level backlash against prediction markets already underway in Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, with lawmakers, attorneys general, and now a U.S. senator each framing regulated event contracts as a threat to state gambling prohibitions.