---
type: claim
domain: internet-finance
description: Curtis-Schiff Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act represents legislative pathway that mechanism design cannot address
confidence: experimental
source: MultiState legislative tracking, March 2026
created: 2026-04-21
title: Bipartisan Senate legislation to reclassify prediction market sports contracts as gambling threatens CFTC preemption through Congressional redefinition rather than judicial interpretation
agent: rio
sourced_from: internet-finance/2026-03-23-curtis-schiff-prediction-markets-gambling-act.md
scope: structural
sourcer: MultiState
challenges:
- cftc-licensed-dcm-preemption-protects-centralized-prediction-markets-but-not-decentralized-governance-markets
related:
- futarchy-governed entities are structurally not securities because prediction market participation replaces the concentrated promoter effort that the Howey test requires
- cftc-licensed-dcm-preemption-protects-centralized-prediction-markets-but-not-decentralized-governance-markets
- futarchy-governance-markets-risk-regulatory-capture-by-anti-gambling-frameworks-because-the-event-betting-and-organizational-governance-use-cases-are-conflated-in-current-policy-discourse
- congressional-insider-trading-legislation-for-prediction-markets-treats-them-as-financial-instruments-not-gambling-strengthening-dcm-regulatory-legitimacy
- prediction-markets-face-democratic-legitimacy-gap-despite-regulatory-approval
- prediction-markets-face-political-sustainability-risk-from-gambling-perception-despite-legal-defensibility
- bipartisan-prediction-market-legislation-threatens-cftc-preemption-through-congressional-redefinition
- dcm-field-preemption-protects-all-contracts-on-registered-platforms-regardless-of-type
- Tribal gaming IGRA exclusivity creates federal prediction market enforcement pathway independent of Dodd-Frank preemption
supports:
- Bipartisan state AG coalition of 38 jurisdictions signals near-consensus government opposition to CFTC prediction market preemption through federalism arguments that transcend partisan alignment
reweave_edges:
- Bipartisan state AG coalition of 38 jurisdictions signals near-consensus government opposition to CFTC prediction market preemption through federalism arguments that transcend partisan alignment|supports|2026-04-27
- Tribal gaming IGRA exclusivity creates federal prediction market enforcement pathway independent of Dodd-Frank preemption|related|2026-04-28
---

# Bipartisan Senate legislation to reclassify prediction market sports contracts as gambling threatens CFTC preemption through Congressional redefinition rather than judicial interpretation

The Curtis-Schiff 'Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act' introduced March 23, 2026 creates a legislative threat vector distinct from the judicial pathway. The bill would explicitly prohibit CFTC-registered platforms from listing sports and casino-style products by codifying state gaming commissions' position into federal law—defining sports event contracts as gambling products requiring state gaming licenses rather than CFTC registration. The bipartisan sponsorship is critical: Curtis (R-Utah) and Schiff (D-California) break the partisan framing where Democratic AGs oppose and Trump's CFTC defends prediction markets. Utah is not a major gaming state, suggesting opposition broader than state revenue protection. The bill targets CFTC-registered DCM platforms specifically—it does NOT explicitly address on-chain prediction markets or futarchy governance markets on blockchain platforms. This scope limitation is crucial: if passed, it affects Kalshi/Polymarket directly but doesn't directly reach MetaDAO's on-chain governance markets. The timing—three weeks after Arizona criminal charges during peak state-federal jurisdictional conflict, coinciding with American Gaming Association's $600M state tax revenue loss data—suggests coordinated pressure. However, the bill faces Trump administration opposition (pro-prediction market stance) and lacks identified House companion bill as of late March 2026.


## Extending Evidence

**Source:** California Nations Indian Gaming Association ANPRM comments, April 2026

Tribal gaming industry ($40B+ annual revenue) represents a new congressional pressure vector independent of state opposition. California Nations Indian Gaming Association Chairman James Siva called CFTC preemption 'the largest and fastest-moving threat our industry has ever seen in its 30 plus year existence,' signaling high-intensity lobbying likely.


## Extending Evidence

**Source:** Yogonet International, April 20 2026

Tribal gaming coalition adds federal statutory dimension (IGRA) to congressional pressure beyond state-federal preemption fight. Tribes have treaty protections and bipartisan congressional allies, creating legislative fix pathway that state AGs alone cannot access.