---
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 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.
