Utah to ban prediction markets as state-fed regulatory dispute escalates.

Utah's HB243 bill, which defines "event betting" as gambling, has been submitted to the governor's office and aims to prevent prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket from operating in the state. Governor Spencer Cox has indicated his intention to sign the bill. Kalshi had previously filed a lawsuit against Utah, asking a federal judge to block the state from enforcing gambling restrictions, arguing that its event contracts are federally regulated derivatives, not gambling, and that the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over such markets under the Commodity Exchange Act. Kalshi also filed a lawsuit against Iowa on the same day. Previously, a federal judge in Ohio had rejected Kalshi's request to block the state's regulator from enforcing gambling laws. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that the agency has regulatory authority over prediction markets and warned that it will defend this jurisdiction in court. Selig also called well-functioning prediction markets "truth machines," arguing that when participants financially back their opinions, the market can generate more reliable signals than traditional polls.