NFL Joins 40 States in Legal Fight Over Prediction Market Regulation

The National Football League filed an amicus brief backing New Jersey’s appeal to the Supreme Court, urging the justices to decide whether prediction markets should be regulated by state gambling authorities or by federal agencies. The league contended that a federal "laissez-faire" approach could jeopardize game integrity and interfere with its efforts to collaborate with states on sports-betting regulation.

In the brief, the NFL emphasized that its primary concern is preserving the integrity of its games and protecting fans as legal sports betting expands across the country. It argued that contracts tied to game outcomes are fundamentally "sports gambling" and should fall under state gambling statutes, citing prior court rulings.

The filing noted that on the opening Sunday of the season, more than half of the $3.3 billion in trading volume on prediction-market platforms involved NFL games. While the Commodity Futures Trading Commission currently oversees these markets, at least ten states have challenged platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, asserting that they should be subject to state gambling regulations.

Attorneys general from 39 states and the District of Columbia also submitted a brief, stating that states have historically held authority over sports gambling and accusing prediction-market operators of attempting to circumvent state law through technical interpretations of a federal financial reform bill enacted after the 2008 mortgage crisis.

"States have held the traditional power over sports gambling since this country's beginning," the attorneys general wrote.

The NFL’s filing seeks a ruling before the end of the current season.