Sen. Schiff Pushes Bill to Ban Sports Prediction Market Contracts — What Bettors Need to Know Before May 20

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) intensified his push against sports prediction markets at a Brookings Institution event on May 13, 2026, calling CFTC Chair Mike Selig “duplicitous” for actively defending the agency’s authority over event contracts after earlier suggesting courts should resolve the jurisdictional dispute. The remarks are the latest in an accelerating legislative and regulatory battle that will reach a critical moment on May 20, when the Senate Commerce Subcommittee holds its first-ever formal hearing on prediction markets alongside sports betting.

Schiff, who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee overseeing the CFTC, said the agency is “completely unequipped” to regulate the rapidly expanding prediction markets industry given its reduced staffing. He cited a Wall Street Journal analysis showing that approximately two-thirds of profits on prediction market exchanges are captured by just 0.1% of all traders, arguing that most retail users consistently lose money on platforms that look more like gambling operations than financial exchanges.

The Legislation and What It Would Do

Schiff and Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) introduced bipartisan legislation in March 2026 that would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit CFTC-registered platforms from offering sports event contracts and casino-style betting products. The bill would not ban prediction markets entirely, preserving contracts tied to commodity hedging and other legitimate financial uses, but would return authority over sports betting-style contracts to states and tribal governments. A coalition of nearly all state attorneys general, including Kentucky AG Russell Coleman this week, have expressed support for state-level control over these markets.

The May 20 Hearing and What It Could Trigger

The May 20 hearing, titled “No Sure Bets: Protecting Sports Integrity in America,” is the first time prediction markets have been formally placed alongside the licensed sportsbook industry in a Congressional hearing. Several bills are competing for momentum heading into the second half of 2026, including the Schiff-Curtis bill, Sen. Blumenthal’s “Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act,” and the more expansive “STOP Corrupt Bets Act.” For bettors currently using prediction markets for sports, the outcome of this legislative fight will determine whether platforms like Kalshi can continue offering sports event contracts in states that have not legalized sports betting. Those who primarily use licensed sportsbooks and DraftKings promo code offers operate under a separate, established regulatory framework that is not threatened by the current legislative push. The broader question of how these platforms differ is covered in our state-by-state sports betting guide.