Skip to content
Law & Regulation

Regulation News

How US online casino and iGaming law actually changes: bills, regulators, licensing, enforcement, court rulings, and gambling tax. State by state, with the status spelled out plainly.

  1. Kalshi sues to block Minnesota prediction market ban

    Kalshi sued Minnesota in federal court on May 27 to block the state's new ban on prediction markets. It asked for a temporary restraining order to stop the law before it takes effect August 1. The suit names Gov. Tim Walz and the state's gambling regulators.

    Minnesota's Senate File 4760, signed May 19, made it the first state to outlaw event contracts on sports, politics, and other outcomes. Kalshi argues the federal Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive control, so the state law violates the Supremacy Clause.

    The CFTC sued over the same law days after Walz signed it. Kalshi's filing opens a new front in federal court.

  2. House Oversight probes Kalshi and Polymarket over insider trading

    House Oversight chair James Comer launched a probe of Kalshi and Polymarket on May 22. He sent letters to Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan asking how the platforms verify identity, enforce geographic limits, and flag suspicious trades.

    The investigation followed reports that a US Army master sergeant made about $400,000 on Polymarket using classified information about the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A New York Times review also flagged more than 80 Polymarket accounts that placed well-timed bets before undisclosed US and Israeli strikes in Iran.

    Comer signaled he may pursue legislation to bar federal employees from trading on the platforms.

    • Regulation News
    • Gambling News

  3. Ninth Circuit lets Nevada and Washington gambling cases against Kalshi and Polymarket proceed

    A Ninth Circuit panel on May 22 denied bids by Kalshi and Polymarket to halt state gambling cases against them in Nevada and Washington. Judges Ryan Nelson, Bridget Bade, and Kenneth Lee turned away three requests for stays and sent the suits back to state court.

    The orders said federal commodities oversight does not by itself give Kalshi and Polymarket a way out of state enforcement. Nevada accuses both platforms of running sports wagers without a gaming license. Washington's case asks whether Kalshi's event contracts amount to illegal gambling.

    The ruling splits with the Third Circuit, which sided with Kalshi against New Jersey, and tightens state-court pressure on prediction markets.

  4. Tennessee makes prediction market manipulation a Class E felony

    Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 1992, creating a new Class E felony in Tennessee for intentionally influencing the outcome of an event while holding a prediction market contract tied to that outcome. The law takes effect July 1.

    The statute slots the offense into Title 39, Chapter 14 of state code as a property crime, not a gambling violation. Tennessee becomes one of the first US states to write prediction market integrity directly into criminal code, as Kalshi and Polymarket push sports event contracts deeper into the mainstream.

    The Senate passed the bill 28-1. It moves alongside Tennessee's sweepstakes casino ban, SB 2136, which Lee signed the same month.

  5. Kalshi and Rhode Island file dueling lawsuits over prediction markets

    Kalshi and Rhode Island took each other to court on May 21 over the prediction market's sports event contracts. Kalshi sued first in US District Court in Providence, naming Attorney General Peter Neronha and two state gaming officials, and sought an emergency order to block the state from shutting down its platform.

    Hours later, Neronha sued Kalshi and Polymarket in state superior court, claiming both run illegal sports gambling. He said there is no real difference between sports betting and the event contracts the platforms sell.

    Rhode Island licenses its online casinos. The case tests whether federally regulated prediction markets can offer sports wagers there without a state license.

  6. New York Senate committee advances prediction market ban

    A New York Senate committee advanced a bill to ban many prediction market contracts on May 21. The Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee voted 6 to 0 to move Senate Bill 9414, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Addabbo, to the Finance Committee.

    The bill would bar contracts tied to sports, politics, death, catastrophic events, and securities. It would also raise the minimum age for prediction market trading to 21, require self-exclusion tools, restrict advertising, and block funding through credit cards or gift cards.

    New York's legislative session ends in about two weeks, so the bill has little time left to pass. It would add the state to a growing list pushing back on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.

  7. Senate hearing signals federal rules for prediction markets

    A US Senate subcommittee that examined sports betting and prediction markets on May 20 signaled that federal rules are likely. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who chaired the Commerce subcommittee hearing, called it the first of several and said she will work with Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz on federal standards for prediction markets.

    Senators from both parties said the sports event contracts offered by Kalshi and Polymarket work like sports bets. American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller argued the platforms skip the rules state-licensed operators follow and cut into state tax revenue. The Coalition for Prediction Markets said federal commodities oversight already covers them.

    A federal standard could change how prediction markets compete with regulated online casinos.

    • Regulation News
    • Gambling News

  8. US Senate to weigh sports betting integrity and prediction markets May 20

    A US Senate subcommittee meets May 20 to examine sports betting integrity and the growth of prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. The hearing, chaired by Tennessee's Sen. Marsha Blackburn, is the first time prediction markets have been placed alongside the licensed sportsbook industry in a congressional setting.

    Witnesses include American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller, Tennessee Sports Wagering Council director Mary Beth Thomas, and Patrick McHenry of the Coalition for Prediction Markets.

    The AGA and the Indian Gaming Association recently asked Congress to bar prediction markets from offering sports event contracts, arguing they sidestep the consumer rules that apply to state-licensed casinos.

    • Regulation News
    • Gambling News

  9. Bipartisan US Senate bill would fine gambling ads to minors up to $100,000

    US Senators Katie Britt of Alabama and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced the Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement (GAME) Act on May 19. The bipartisan bill would ban gambling ads aimed at anyone under 18 on digital platforms and let the Federal Trade Commission fine violators up to $100,000 per ad.

    Coverage extends to traditional sportsbooks, online casinos, and prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. Repeat offenders could face additional civil penalties through the Department of Justice.

    If enacted, the law would take effect one year later. It would be the first US statute to put a dollar penalty on gambling ads served to minors through behavioral targeting on social media.

    • Regulation News
    • Gambling News

  10. Minnesota becomes first state to ban prediction markets, CFTC sues

    Gov. Tim Walz signed Senate File 4760 on May 18, making Minnesota the first state to explicitly ban prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. The new restrictions make hosting or advertising contracts on sports, politics, war, weather, and other future events a state crime. They take effect August 1.

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Minnesota in federal court the next day to block the law. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said the law would turn lawful operators into felons overnight.

    Minnesota joins a federal-state fight already playing out in Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.

  11. Minnesota sweepstakes casino ban fails as session ends

    A Minnesota bill to ban dual-currency sweepstakes casinos failed to pass before the Legislature adjourned its 2026 session on May 18. Senate File 4474 cleared the Senate on April 30 but never got a House floor vote.

    The bill was referred to a House committee in early May and saw no further action. Backers would have to reintroduce it in the 2027 session to try again.

    Sweepstakes casino sites stay legally available to Minnesota residents for now, though the state attorney general has separately ordered several unlicensed operators to stop.

    • Regulation News

  12. Oklahoma lawmakers override veto to ban sweepstakes casinos

    Oklahoma lawmakers overrode Governor Kevin Stitt's veto of Senate Bill 1589 on May 14, putting a ban on online sweepstakes casinos into law. The Senate voted 34 to 10 and the House followed 68 to 19.

    Stitt had vetoed the measure on May 7, calling it too broad and saying it would criminalize everyday apps. The new law targets dual-currency systems that let players swap promotional coins for cash prizes, the model most sweepstakes casino sites use.

    Players in Oklahoma will lose access to these sites once state regulators begin enforcement.

    • Regulation News

Editorial Sources

What we read for this beat, sorted by how we treat it. Opening a source does not endorse anything they publish.