Minnesota proposal targets sports and political prediction markets

"Under the bill, a transaction would be illegal if its value "depends on the outcome of future events" tied to certain categories. These include athletic competitions, casino-style contests, political races, or events involving identifiable individuals or groups. Markets connected to wars, terrorism, disasters, public health emergencies, or deaths would also fall under the prohibition."

"The legislation casts a wide net over companies involved in these platforms. The bill states: "Whoever allows, or maintains or operates a business, organization, or other entity that allows participants to place, enter, or execute wagers, bets, trades, contracts, or financial positions... is guilty of a felony if the transaction depends on the outcome of future events.""

Minnesota Senate File 4511 seeks to criminalize prediction markets by making it a felony to run, promote, or facilitate platforms enabling financial trading on real-world outcomes. Sponsored by five state senators, the bill amends existing gambling statutes and broadly defines illegal transactions as those depending on future events in categories including sports competitions, political races, wars, terrorism, disasters, public health emergencies, and deaths. The legislation targets companies operating these platforms and extends to promotional contests awarding prizes based on performance or chance tied to specified outcomes. The proposal casts wide legal liability across the prediction market industry.

Read at ReadWrite