North American Derivatives Exchange, known as Crypto.com, joins with Robinhood in filing with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision affirming the denial of its motion for a preliminary injunction against Nevada as to sports event contracts.
“Today, we filed our petition to the Supreme Court seeking clarity on who ultimately gets to regulate federally registered prediction markets,” Justin Wales, Crypto.com’s chief legal officer, said Friday. “We have always prioritized compliance with our regulatory obligation, and are proud that our regulator, the Commodity Futures Exchange Commission, supports the industry’s effort to obtain clarity through the judicial process.”
On Friday, a Robinhood spokeswoman confirmed the company had filed its petition, which should be published on the Supreme Court docket in the coming days.
“The Supreme Court now has the opportunity to provide clarity on the regulation of prediction markets, which we believe rightly sits with the CFTC” the spokeswoman said.
Currently, Robinhood and Crypto.com have suspended all sports event contracts for Nevada residents while it’s seeking review of the decision.
Robinhood and Crypto.com’s decision to file a petition for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, comes after Kalshi petitioned for an en banc hearing with the Ninth Circuit over its decision allowing Nevada gaming regulators to regulate sports-event contracts as gambling.
The rehearing will include 11 judges, rather than the three-judge panel that ruled on the case. The judges ruled unanimously that sports-event contracts were not swaps, but sports wagers, so the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) doesn’t preempt regulation Kalshi’s contracts.
In its petition, the company said a rehearing was necessary, because the panel’s decision creates a circuit split on an important question of federal preemption based on internally inconsistent reasoning that conflicts with the plain text of the CEA.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled 2-1 in May in favor of Kalshi, upholding a preliminary injunction that blocked New Jersey’s cease-and-desist order from March 2025.
The majority ruled that sports event contracts are financial instruments, or swaps, under exclusive jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). But in a dissenting opinion, Judge Jane Richards Roth argued that the contracts are indistinguishable from traditional sports betting and should remain subject to state gaming regulations.
Earlier this month, New Jersey asked the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the legal dispute over whether sports-event contracts offered by prediction markets are federally regulated swaps under federal commodities law or wagers subject to state gambling regulations.
Kalshi also argued that the Ninth Circuit’s decision was contradictory; the court ruled that the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over instruments traded on derivative exchanges, but that states could regulate sports contacts the CFTC approved on those exchanges.
“As a result, Kalshi now stands exposed to civil and criminal liability, even though it is abiding by federal law and the mandate of its exclusive federal regulator,” the petition reads.
Attorneys for Kalshi claim in their 78-page filing that Congress preempted state regulation of event contracts traded on Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) by granting the CFTC “exclusive jurisdiction” over “agreements … and transactions involving swap … traded or executed on DCMs.
“Sports-event contracts are indisputably ‘agreements,’” the petition reads. “They are also ‘swaps,’ because Congress defined the term to cover any contract where payment depends on the ‘occurrence’ of an ‘event … associated with a potential financial, economic, or commercial consequence.”
British Columbia regulator says prediction markets are gambling
British Columbia’s gaming regulators have sided with other Canadian regulators in warning that trading sports and entertainment prediction contracts is gambling and not securities or derivatives.
In a statement, the Independent Gambling Control Office (IGCO) stated that these products are considered gambling and must be regulated under the Criminal Code of Canada and provincial gaming legislation.
“The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) is the only entity permitted to conduct and manage commercial gambling, including online gambling and sports betting, on behalf of the … provincial government,” the IGCO said.
According to a notice issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSE), other categories of event contracts may raise questions as to whether they’re appropriately characterized as securities or derivatives.
“Assessment of these products is ongoing,” the BCSE said.
The IGCO’s statement follows a joint notice issued last month by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). The financial regulators issued guidance that sports and entertainment contracts on prediction markets fall outside securities and derivatives law.
Polymarket hires first CFO
Polymarket has hired its first chief financial officer. Warren Jenson has held the same position at Amazon, Delta Air Lines, and most recently Nielsen.
Jenson “will lead the company’s finance organization, set financial and capital strategy, strengthen long-range planning, and build the infrastructure to carry Polymarket into its next phase,” according to a press release.
“Polymarket created a massive new global company. The opportunity ahead of us is enormous,” Jenson said.
Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of Polymarket, said Jenson’s hiring was about assembling a team to “match the opportunity” in front of the company.
“Warren has led finance at some of the most consequential companies in the world, and his experience will be critical to everything that we build from here,” Coplan said.
