In the midst of multiple court battles, Nevada regulators issued a fresh warning about prediction markets.
On Wednesday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) became the latest state regulator to warn licensees about potential disciplinary measures related to offering sports event contracts on prediction markets. This follows similar notices this year in Ohio and Michigan.
In a notice issued on Wednesday afternoon, the board said that offering contracts on sports, elections or pop culture events constitutes “wagering activity” under state law. This is regardless of whether the contracts are listed on an exchange under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or not, the board said. The CFTC is the federal financial regulator that oversees prediction markets.
Licensees that offer these contracts or strike similar partnerships in Nevada, another state or on tribal lands could now face suitability evaluations or further discipline.
“Examples of event contracts that the board specifically considers to be wagering subject to its jurisdiction include event contracts based on the outcome or partial outcome of any sporting or athletic event, or other selected events such as the World Series of Poker, the Oscars, esports and political elections,” the release stated.
“Offerings for sports and other events contracts may be conducted in Nevada only if the offering entity possesses a nonrestricted gaming license with sports pool approval in Nevada and meets the other requirements for sports wagering including, without limitation, wagering accounts and sports book systems.”
The notice piggybacks on comments made by NGCB member George Assad at the board’s most recent hearing 8 October. Assad railed against prediction markets, calling them “nothing more than a word salad”. He celebrated recent court rulings against platforms Kalshi and Crypto.com in Maryland and Nevada, respectively.
“A derivative contract or whatever you want to call it is nothing more than a sports wager,” Assad said. “A sports wager is a sports wager. Every bet made in this town is a contract.
“You can call it a derivative contract or a credit default swap like they did during the housing bubble. Whatever you call it, it’s still a sports bet.
“Therefore, it’s under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Gaming Commission and Nevada Gaming Control Board.”
Nevada has fought a multi-front legal battle with prediction markets in 2025. The state was the first to send a cease-and-desist letter to Kalshi in March. Kalshi sued in response and won a preliminary injunction in April to continue operating for the time being. That case is currently under appeal.
Cease-and-desists were also sent to Crypto.com and Robinhood, and both sued in response as Kalshi did. Crytpo.com filed suit in June and Robinhood filed in August.
Notably, as Assad alluded to, Crypto.com saw its injunction request denied this month by Judge Andrew Gordon, the same j