Supreme Court Asked to Clarify Sports Prediction Market Regulation

Crypto.com and Robinhood have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive authority over sports prediction markets.

The dispute has produced conflicting federal appeals court rulings and state enforcement actions, with Nevada's Ninth Circuit ruling that sports event contracts are not swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act.

Crypto.com argues that sports-event contracts are swaps because their payouts depend on sporting outcomes with potential economic consequences.

The company points to Congress' inclusion of gaming among categories the CFTC can prohibit under a special rule, which it says confirms that Congress contemplated the interaction between swaps and gambling.