39 states back New Jersey in Supreme Court case against Kalshi

The NFL filed an amicus brief on 8 October with the US Supreme Court, and the Seminole Tribe of Florida sued DraftKings over its sports products in the state.

The filings follow the brief from the International Association of Gaming Regulators and the North American Gaming Regulators Association covered in our earlier report. Operators and affiliates that handle sports event contracts will want to track the outcome closely.

What happened

NFL. In its brief in No. 26-299, the league contends that the Dodd-Frank swap definition reaches just those instruments meant to hedge a risk that already exists, and that sports wagers fall outside it. It says the CFTC and exchanges such as Kalshi have so far resisted its requests for safeguards.

The brief also says prediction markets accept 18-year-olds, while most states set 21 for sports betting. According to the brief, NFL games made up $1.8bn out of $3.3bn in trading on the first of the NFL season. The league also told Front Office Sports that its objection is not to prediction markets in general, according to SBC Americas.

States. A joint brief led by Ohio was filed on 7 October by the attorneys general of 39 states plus the District of Columbia. The brief calls federal and state courts "hopelessly confused and divided" and notes that the CFTC has sued at least nine states over enforcement. It also states that 44 states came out against the rules the CFTC proposed for prediction markets.

AGA and tribes. The AGA argued that prediction markets sidestep state taxation, consumer protections and gaming integrity requirements. The tribal coalition contended that tribal sovereignty, gaming exclusivity and revenue are endangered by sports event contracts, and that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is not overridden by the Commodity Exchange Act.

Former officials. Dodd argues that Congress passed Dodd-Frank in response to the financial crisis, not to move sports betting oversight from the states to the CFTC. Gensler also rejects treating sports wagers as swaps.

Seminole Tribe v. DraftKings. The tribe filed a complaint in Florida state court naming DraftKings, its CEO Jason Robins and DraftKings Predictions as defendants. It alleges that Pick6 and the sports event contracts operate as unlicensed sportsbooks in Florida. The complaint further alleges that DraftKings bypassed the 21 age requirement and, over five years, secretly funded litigation aimed at invalidating the compact, including a lawsuit filed on 17 September 2026 against the state and its officials. It said it would prioritise any recovered funds for Florida consumer protection and responsible gambling recovery programmes.

Why it matters

Operators and affiliates that offer or promote sports event contracts alongside licensed sportsbook products should check how their state-by-state exposure would change if the Court takes the case. The Third Circuit sided with Kalshi, while the Sixth and Ninth Circuits disagreed.

Operators with licensed products in states with tribal compacts could face similar arguments against hybrid products. The NFL's focus on the 18 versus 21 age gap and on prohibited contract categories could also shape the terms that leagues seek in data and integrity arrangements.

The breadth of the coalition, spanning a league, the AGA, tribes, state attorneys general and former federal officials, suggests that much of the incumbent licensed industry may be aligned on the preemption question.