TLDR
- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has received dozens of inquiries about prediction markets it does not regulate.
- Staff tell those consumers to contact the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Licensed sportsbooks in the state have returned nearly $10 million to customers after company errors.
- Massachusetts sportsbooks require bettors to be 21, while Kalshi generally allows eligible adults 18 and older.
- The state won a preliminary injunction against Kalshi in January 2026, which Kalshi has challenged.
Massachusetts can make licensed sportsbooks pay back customers when the companies make mistakes. It has no such power over prediction markets, and residents are learning that when they ask the state for help.
A Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) spokesperson told Gambling Insider they had personally seen dozens of inquiries about platforms the commission does not regulate. The messages arrive in a general email box that the spokesperson’s team monitors.
Staff reply by telling people the MGC does not oversee prediction markets. They then direct consumers to the CFTC, the federal agency that supervises these exchanges.
The spokesperson could not give an exact count. They also could not say how many messages involved actual customer disputes, or whether the CFTC later helped anyone.
Nearly $10 Million Returned Under State Oversight
Massachusetts has spent three years building rules for licensed sportsbooks. MGC Chair Jordan Maynard’s written testimony to Congress lists 39 enforcement actions with monetary penalties, with operators paying more than $1 million to the state.
Licensed operators have also returned nearly $10 million to customers after errors caused by the companies. The commission can order its own licensees to fix problems that affect bettors.
Maynard argued that the CFTC framework does not offer the same sports betting protections Massachusetts requires. Prediction market exchanges are still subject to federal commodities laws and CFTC oversight.
The state’s figures do not show whether prediction market customers with similar problems would end up better or worse off. The commission has not tracked what happens after it sends people to federal regulators.
Maynard spoke at a November 11 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. The hearing examined the rise of sports gambling on college campuses.
He told lawmakers that users cannot easily tell a state-licensed sportsbook app from a prediction market app. “We have basically two sets of standards for a product that looks exactly the same to the end user,” he said.
He said the commission gets calls asking it to step in on disputes with companies that have not applied for a sports wagering license. Those calls may not be the same messages the spokesperson has seen in the inbox.
Age Limits and College Player Bets
Massachusetts sportsbooks only accept customers aged 21 and older. Kalshi generally lets eligible adults 18 and older trade event contracts, including sports contracts.
That means a 19-year-old cannot place a legal sportsbook bet in the state. The same person may be able to trade a contract on a similar sports outcome if the platform allows it.
State sportsbooks also cannot take proposition bets on individual college players, a rule meant partly to protect student-athletes from harassment. Maynard said prediction markets were offering contracts tied to individual college athletes.
Asked by Rep. Yassamin Ansari how the platforms get around safeguards, Maynard said they offer “the same product by a different name” without paying taxes or following state rules. He added, “Illegality is not innovation.”
Massachusetts sued Kalshi, alleging its sports contracts are unlicensed wagering under state law. The state won a preliminary injunction in January 2026, which Kalshi challenged by arguing its contracts fall under federal commodities jurisdiction.
Maynard asked Congress to protect state and tribal authority over sports betting, ban college player prop bets and fund independent research on gambling harm. Kalshi and other operators reject the view that their event contracts are ordinary sportsbook wagers.
Gambling Insider said it has contacted Kalshi and the CFTC for comment on the testimony and on how consumer disputes are handled. The outlet said it will update its figures once the commission provides more information.
