US Democratic lawmakers urge FTC to investigate prediction markets

Nine U.S. Democratic members of the House of Representatives have called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to launch an investigation into prediction market platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, Cointelegraph reported. Reps. Kevin Mullin and Gabe Vasquez argued that these companies promote themselves to the public as sports betting platforms while claiming to regulators that they are financial platforms offering investment products. The lawmakers asserted that the firms use gambling-related terms like "legal betting" and "sports betting" to evade state-level gambling regulations. They have requested that the FTC provide information by June 29 on whether the platforms are deceiving consumers, along with its plans for future investigation and enforcement.