Federal Agency Sues States That are Trying to Stop Prediction Market Gambling

Gambling, ,

A federal agency is going to court to make sure online prediction markets can operate in states that don’t want them.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed lawsuits against New York and Wisconsin and filed legal briefs in Massachusetts, all to stop those states from applying their gambling laws to so-called “prediction markets.”

The CFTC has also previously sued Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois for the same reason.

Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi exploit loopholes in federal law to bring casino-style gambling to anyone with a smartphone. Whereas traditional gambling operates under state oversight and state law, prediction market platforms claim protection under federal commodities laws.

The out-of-state companies running these platforms claim it’s not gambling. They just offer “financial products” that let people “invest” in the outcome of ballgames, tomorrow’s weather, foreign policy, and so on.

But calling it an “investment” does not change the reality. It’s wagering on uncertain outcomes in hopes of making money.

Several states have tried to treat prediction markets exactly like what they are — gambling operations — and enforce their state gambling laws against them. The CFTC is now suing those states to stop them, arguing that Congress gave the CFTC exclusive authority to regulate these platforms as financial exchanges.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig put it bluntly: “To any state that seeks to nullify federal law and seize authority over these markets, I say again: we will see you in court.”

In other words, a federal agency is using the courts to override the decisions of state governments that want to protect their citizens from predatory gambling.

We have written before about how prediction markets are particularly troubling because they operate without state oversight. When prediction market platforms let users trade hundreds of millions of dollars on the Super Bowl game outcomes — plus millions more on trivial bets like which song would play first at halftime — that is not investing. That is gambling.

And this kind of predatory gambling destroys families. Sports betting is out of control. It’s ruining lives and corrupting sports. Studies indicate people who gamble on sports may be twice as likely to suffer from gambling problems. The damage is worse when the sports betting happens online.

Now the federal government wants to make sure gambling companies can reach into every state in America — whether those states want it or not.

Arkansas already has a serious gambling problem. Arkansans wagered more than $86.5 million on sports betting in March alone. If the CFTC succeeds in its campaign to block states from regulating these platforms, Arkansas will have even less ability to protect its citizens from this new wave of online gambling.

As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it’s important for Arkansas to protect its citizens and families from predatory gambling. Otherwise gambling addiction will simply continue wrecking lives and hurting families in our state.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas Attorney General Asks 8th Circuit to Keep Ten Commandments Monument on Capitol Grounds

Ten Commandments Monument
Above: Former Sen. Jason Rapert and then-Rep. Kim Hammer unveil Arkansas’ monument commemorating the Ten Commandments in this file photo from 2018.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office has appealed to the 8th Circuit to keep a monument of the Ten Commandments on the State Capitol Building grounds.

In 2015 the Arkansas General Assembly passed a law authorizing a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments at the Capitol Building in Little Rock, and the monument was finally unveiled three years later. But almost immediately, atheist groups filed a lawsuit to remove the monument from the Capitol grounds. That lawsuit languished in federal court until March 31, when a judge ruled against the monument.

However, Attorney General Tim Griffin has appealed that bad decision to the judges at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals process so far has been scheduled to take the rest of the spring a good portion of the summer.

Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.

That’s why the Ten Commandments traditionally have appeared in artwork at courthouses and other public buildings.

Arkansas’ monument commemorates that same historical and cultural legacy. It’s also identical to a monument the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the Texas Capitol Building in 2005. With that in mind, we believe our federal courts ultimately will uphold Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Pro-Life Centers Win Unanimous Supreme Court Victory

Abortion, , ,

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed New Jersey pregnancy centers can defend themselves from government overreach.

In 2023, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office subpoenaed a massive amount of information from First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in New Jersey — including donor information that may be sensitive.

In response, First Choice filed a federal lawsuit to protect its sensitive data from government overreach, and the attorney general sued to force First Choice to hand over the documents.

After two years in court, on Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of First Choice.

In the ruling, Justice Neil Gorsuch pointed out that the New Jersey Attorney General’s office targeted First Choice despite receiving no consumer complaints against the pro-life group, writing:

“The [New Jersey] Attorney General served a subpoena on First Choice, commanding the group to produce 28 categories of documents, including documents reflecting the names, phone numbers, addresses, and places of employment of all individuals who had made donations to First Choice by any means other than through one specific webpage. Effectively, that demand required First Choice to provide personal information about donors who gave through two other websites, through the group’s various social media pages, by mail, in person, or by any other means. The subpoena warned twice that failure to comply may render the group liable for contempt of court and other penalties. . . .

“Since the 1950s, this Court has confronted one official demand after another like the Attorney General’s. Over and again, we have held those demands burden the exercise of First Amendment rights. Disputing none of these precedents but seeking ways around them, the Attorney General has offered a variety of arguments. Some are old, some are new, but none succeeds.”

This is really good news. Last summer, Family Council joined a coalition of pro-life groups in an amicus brief supporting First Choice’s lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court. We are glad to see the Court rule in First Choice’s favor.

Pregnancy resource centers offer women real options besides abortion. Many of these centers provide everything from ultrasounds and pregnancy tests to maternity clothes and adoption referrals — typically free of charge.

That’s part of the reason Arkansas provides millions of dollars in publicly funded grants for these organizations. It’s a way Arkansas can use public funds to support women and children without expanding government or creating new state programs.

Family Council is pleased to stand up for pro-life pregnancy resource centers in Arkansas and around the country. We hope all of our state and federal officials will continue to do so as well.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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