Altcoins News

Story: Kalshi and Polymarket Ban Users as Congress Targets Sports Betting Contracts

By Maheen Hernandez

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Platform Crackdowns Hit Hard. Kalshi's restrictions came after weeks of talks with legal experts and regulatory advisors.

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Congressional Bill Takes Aim. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Tom Emmer introduced legislation that could reshape…

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Regulatory Pressure Mounts. The regulatory environment got messier fast. Prediction markets operate in a gray area where…

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Prediction markets cracked down hard. Kalshi and Polymarket both restricted user activity on Tuesday to fight insider trading, just as lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill that…

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The timing wasn't coincidental - both platforms moved fast to get ahead of potential new rules.

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Kalshi's restrictions came after weeks of talks with legal experts and regulatory advisors. Sources close to the company said CEO Tarek Mansour wanted to take a proactive…

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Polymarket's user bans hit harder. The decentralized platform, which already paid a $1.4 million fine to the CFTC in January 2022 for operating without proper registration, can't…

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Both platforms stayed quiet about exact numbers. How many users got banned? Which specific markets closed? Unclear.

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ramped up its oversight too. On March 24, the CFTC said it's watching prediction markets more closely than ever, looking for market…

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The bill targets what lawmakers call "gambling disguised as trading." Warren's office said sports betting contracts create unfair advantages for people with inside information…

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If the bill passes, it won't just affect current operations. Platforms would need to completely rethink their business models.

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Industry insiders think the platforms saw this coming. "Nobody makes these kinds of moves without knowing something's in the pipeline," said one former CFTC official who asked…

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The regulatory environment got messier fast. Prediction markets operate in a gray area where traditional securities laws don't quite fit, but gambling regulations might apply.

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Kalshi and Polymarket built their platforms on the idea that people should be able to trade on any future event. That philosophy worked when regulators weren't paying attention.

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Both companies are preparing for major changes. Kalshi's been hiring compliance officers and lawyers.

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