NFL urges US Supreme Court to uphold state betting rules — Fortune
The National Football League (NFL) urged the US Supreme Court in a 24-page filing to support the position of state regulators regarding sports contracts on prediction markets. The league believes such contracts are bets on game outcomes and should be subject to state gambling rules, Fortune reports.
NFL arguments
The NFL said that states have long regulated gambling and that sports contracts are bets on competition outcomes rather than instruments for hedging businesses against financial risks. The league urged the Supreme Court to resolve the issue before another NFL season passes, citing the need to preserve the integrity of competitions.
According to data cited by the NFL, trading volume in contracts on the league's games through prediction market platforms reached nearly $2 billion on the first Sunday of the 2026 season. This accounted for more than half of the total daily trading volume on such platforms.
The US Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear the case. At the same time, Fortune notes that the court is expected to be able to take up the case next year.
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Dispute surrounding Kalshi
The dispute concerns, in particular, the Kalshi platform, which offers contracts on sporting events. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates financial products, including swaps, has taken a largely hands-off approach to prediction markets under the current administration. This allowed federally registered exchanges such as Kalshi to offer sports contracts without complying with traditional state betting rules.
In late August, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Nevada regulators to apply state gambling laws to Kalshi's sports contracts. In April, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in Kalshi's dispute with New Jersey regulators, sided with the platform, classifying its sports contracts as swaps rather than bets.
The Sixth Circuit also allowed Ohio and Tennessee to apply their gambling rules to Kalshi contracts while lawsuits are being considered. The NFL supported the position of the Sixth and Ninth Circuits, saying that differing court rulings create uncertainty in oversight and raise concerns about fraud, insider trading, and consumer protection.
Position of other leagues
Unlike the NFL, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and the National Hockey League supported prediction markets through partnerships with Kalshi and Polymarket. Polymarket said it is working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and professional leagues to create a coordinated federal regulatory system.
