NFL asks Supreme Court to let states regulate prediction markets

Greg Stohr, Bloomberg News on Oct 8, 2026

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The National Football League urged the U.S. Supreme Court to allow state regulation of prediction markets in a stance putting it at odds with the Trump administration in a high-stakes clash.

In a court filing Thursday, the NFL told the justices that the “laissez-faire” approach federal regulators are taking toward prediction markets could allow “unscrupulous actors to cause mischief, trade on inside information, and harm game integrity.” The NFL urged the court to take up an pending appeal by New Jersey regulators in a clash involving Kalshi Inc.

The NFL has been warier of prediction markets than other major sports leagues, holding off making any alliances. It’s the only major professional sports league far to weigh in at the Supreme Court in the New Jersey case so far.

Kalshi didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump, in contrast, has embraced the fast-growing industry. He said in May that he backs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the sole regulator.

The key legal question is whether prediction-market contracts are “swaps,” which the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act put under the exclusive regulatory ambit of the CFTC. New Jersey and the NFL contend prediction markets are a form of gambling, which states have long had authority to regulate.

Under their normal scheduling practices, the justices could say as soon as December whether they will hear the New Jersey case in the nine-month term that runs through June. The court could also seek Trump administration input, a step that would almost certainly push the clash into the 2027-28 term.

The case is Flaherty v. KalshiEX, 26-299.

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