Gate News, March 12 — Utah HB243 has been submitted to the governor’s office for signing. The bill defines “prop betting” as gambling and aims to prohibit prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket from operating in the state. Governor Spencer Cox has stated plans to sign the bill.
Kalshi has filed a federal lawsuit against Utah, seeking to prevent the state from enforcing gambling restrictions on it. Kalshi argues that its event contracts are federally regulated derivatives, not gambling, and that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has exclusive jurisdiction over such markets under the Commodity Exchange Act. On the same day, Kalshi also filed a similar lawsuit against Iowa. Previously, a federal judge in Ohio dismissed Kalshi’s request to block state regulators from enforcing gambling laws.
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that the agency has regulatory authority over prediction markets and warned it will defend this jurisdiction in court. Selig also described well-functioning prediction markets as “truth machines,” believing that when participants support their views with funds, markets can produce signals more reliable than traditional polls.