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- Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway urged that sports-related prediction markets be subject to the same taxes and rules as licensed sportsbooks.
- Hanaway clarified that legalizing election betting is a state legislative responsibility, emphasizing states’ historical role in regulating gambling.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said prediction markets that offer sports-related contracts in the state should pay the same taxes and follow the same rules as licensed sportsbooks.
The comments put Missouri squarely into the widening dispute over whether event-contract platforms such as Kalshi and offerings available through Robinhood should be treated as federally regulated financial products or as gambling subject to state oversight. Hanaway also said whether election betting should be legal in Missouri is a question for lawmakers, not her office.
“If these prediction markets allow sports betting on their platforms, then we think they should pay the same taxes as any of those other platforms and have the same regulatory structure,” Hanaway said, according to Newstalk KZRG.
Missouri draws a line on sports-event contracts
Hanaway said her office is examining companies, including Kalshi, and platforms, including Robinhood, that offer sports-related event contracts under federal regulation. She said that if those products amount to sports betting, Missouri should regulate them the same way it regulates sportsbooks.
That matters because Missouri launched legal sports betting in December 2025, and licensed operators there are overseen by the Missouri Gaming Commission. Those operators also pay a 10% tax on adjusted gross revenue.
Hanaway said states have historically regulated gambling markets. “When it’s a bet, it’s historically been left to the states to regulate the gambling markets,” she said.
Prediction-market companies have argued that their contracts are financial products regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. States, meanwhile, have argued that sports and election contracts function as bets and should fall under state gambling laws.
Election betting remains undefined in Missouri
Hanaway distinguished between sports-event contracts and the separate question of election wagering. Missouri has no law explicitly addressing election betting, and she said any decision on whether it should be allowed belongs to the legislature.
“With respect to whether they should be allowed to bet on the election, that to me is an issue for the legislature,” Hanaway said. She added, “It’s my job to enforce the law.”
The source article said 32 states restrict election betting in at least some circumstances.
A recent federal appeals court ruling also adds pressure to the broader event-contract debate. According to the article, the court ruled that Kalshi’s sports contracts are sports bets, allowing Nevada to enforce its gambling laws. Questions involving election contracts were sent back to a lower court.
What comes next in Missouri is less clear. Open questions include which specific products Hanaway’s office is reviewing and whether state lawmakers will introduce legislation addressing election wagering or the treatment of prediction market contracts.
Source: As reported by newstalkkzrg.com.
