International Gambling Regulators Ask SCOTUS to Take the Prediction Market Case
The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the North American Gaming Regulators Association (NAGRA) filed with the Supreme Court on October 3 supporting New Jersey's cert petition, urging the Court to resolve the prediction market preemption question. The filing adds the gambling regulatory community's institutional weight to a coalition that already includes 20-plus states, gaming-state lawmakers, and the Robinhood and Crypto.com cert petitions.
The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the North American Gaming Regulators Association (NAGRA) filed with the Supreme Court on October 3, 2026 in support of New Jersey's certiorari petition, urging the Court to decide whether state gambling laws can apply to prediction market sports event contracts. The associations represent gambling regulatory bodies across North America and internationally. Their filing supports New Jersey's September 2 petition to overturn the Third Circuit ruling that sided with Kalshi and the CFTC. The regulators' core interest is jurisdictional: if CFTC registration lets any operator offer sports-betting-like products nationwide without state gambling licences, the state-based regulatory framework their members administer is undermined.
For UK readers, this is the equivalent of the Gambling Commission and its international counterparts collectively intervening in a court case to defend the principle that gambling products require gambling regulation — regardless of how an operator characterises them. IAGR is a genuinely international body; UK and European regulators are among its membership. Their involvement signals that the gambling-regulation community worldwide sees the US case as setting a precedent that operators could cite elsewhere. If US courts ultimately exempt prediction markets from state gambling law on federal-preemption grounds, operators in other jurisdictions may argue for analogous exemptions — which is why regulators outside the US have an interest in the outcome even though US federal law has no direct effect abroad.
The filing is part of a broadening coalition pressing for review. New Jersey filed September 2; Robinhood and Crypto.com filed from the Ninth Circuit ruling; more than 20 states filed amicus briefs supporting state authority; gaming-state lawmakers publicly urged the Court to take the case; and now the gambling regulator associations have added their voice. The breadth of support is itself an argument for cert — the Court is more likely to take a case when states, legislators, and regulators all signal that the question has national importance and that lower-court disorder is causing real governance problems. Notably, no party is arguing against review; even Kalshi, which won in the Third Circuit, has an interest in a definitive national ruling after losing in the Ninth and Sixth.
The procedural posture is unchanged: the Court has not acted on any petition, and Kalshi's response briefs are still pending. The regulators' filing is a signal to the Court rather than a trigger for action — the petitions will be conferenced once responses are in, likely late October or November. But the accumulation of supporting filings strengthens the case that this is a question of exceptional national importance. If cert is granted, the gambling regulators' arguments about the practical consequences for state licensing and consumer protection would likely feature in the merits briefing. The prediction market cases are evolving from a platforms-versus-states dispute into a broader institutional confrontation between federal commodity regulation and the entire apparatus of gambling regulation.
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Recent updates
Google Adds Prediction Market Ad Policy — CFTC License Required, Ads Blocked in Five States
Google published a dedicated prediction markets section in its advertising policy on October 15, requiring domestic operators to hold a CFTC Designated Contract Market licence to run ads — favouring Kalshi and Polymarket US over unlicensed rivals. Google also bars prediction market ads targeting five states where enforcement is most active: Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Nevada. The policy makes Google's ad platform mirror the state enforcement map, using commercial access as a de facto regulatory layer.
Kalshi Partners With Signify to Police Athlete Harassment, Codifies Anti-Abuse Rule
Kalshi announced a partnership with Signify Group on October 15 to monitor social media for abuse and threats directed at athletes, coaches, and sports personnel across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and ATP Tour. Kalshi notified the CFTC of a new rule, dated October 13, codifying athlete harassment as an 'impermissible activity', with sanctions up to financial penalties and permanent account closure. The move follows a September appeal by five major leagues and their players' unions for lifetime bans on abusive bettors.
CFTC Moves to Classify Event Contracts as Swaps — Attempting to Settle the Core SCOTUS Question by Rule
The CFTC, led by Chairman Michael Selig, moved on October 9 to explicitly classify event contracts as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, placing prediction market contracts under federal swap regulation. The scope covers sports, political, cultural, and weather contracts, while a separate provision excludes casino-style gambling and sportsbook wagers. Selig said the aim is to remove 'any ambiguity.' The action targets the exact question dividing the federal circuits and now before the Supreme Court — whether event contracts are 'swaps.'