Lamont bill targets prediction markets after Connecticut sports wagering enforcement actions

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Lamont bill targets prediction markets after Connecticut sports wagering enforcement actions. On a foggy winter Wednesday, January 4, 2023, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, constitutional officers, and state representatives and senators were sworn into new terms at the State Capitol Building and Governor William A. O'Neill State Armory in Hartford, CT. Outside the Armony, Gov. Lamont heard a 19-gun Howitzer salute and walked over to the State Capitol. He later delivered his 2023 State of the State address before a joint session of the General Assembly in the House Chamber.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont is pushing to tighten oversight of prediction markets, rolling out a invoice that will block anybody underneath 21 from utilizing the platforms or seeing advertisements aimed toward them. The proposal lands as state regulators are already cracking down on firms they are saying have crossed into unlicensed sports activities wagering, placing new consideration on how these markets function.

The proposal, Governor’s Invoice No. 5038, was despatched to the Common Legislation Committee in the beginning of the 2026 legislative session. It was submitted instantly by the governor underneath Joint Rule 9 and is tied to his finances suggestions.

The bill zeroes in on prediction market platforms that allow customers purchase and promote positions on future occasions by way of a bid-ask system. Subjects can vary from elections to financial indicators. The laws attracts clear boundaries, explicitly excluding sports activities wagering, on-line on line casino gaming, web video games, and conventional securities or commodities buying and selling already ruled by present legislation.

If authorized, the measure would make it unlawful for any prediction market platform working in Connecticut to permit a resident underneath 21 to register or open a speculative place. Firms would additionally need to confirm a person’s age and ensure the individual is bodily positioned within the state earlier than an account is opened or a wager positioned.

New guidelines for advertisements and enforcement

The invoice goes additional by tightening promoting practices. All advertisements would want to obviously state that individuals should be at the least 21 years outdated. Direct or focused promoting, together with emails and textual content messages, can be required to incorporate a transparent and simple means for recipients to unsubscribe.

It could ban promoting aimed primarily at folks underneath 21 or in school campuses. Advertisements utilizing imagery, language, or endorsements designed to enchantment particularly to youthful audiences can be prohibited, together with promotions that include deceptive info supposed to push customers to take part.

Platforms that by chance enable an underage person can be required to right away droop the account, shut all positions, return any funds, and block the person from returning till turning 21. Violations might convey civil penalties of as much as $10,000 per offense, enforced by the legal professional normal, with repeat or persistent violations drawing fines of as a lot as $50,000 every.

The Division of Shopper Safety can be tasked with writing rules to hold out the legislation. The invoice additionally orders a examine beginning July 1, 2026, on how prediction markets have an effect on Connecticut residents, together with underage use, advert publicity, downside playing, and impacts on state wagering income, with a report due Feb. 1, 2027.

The proposal arrives after state officers ordered platforms together with Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com to halt what regulators described as unlicensed sports wagering in Connecticut. Whereas the invoice carves out conventional sports activities betting, the current actions underscore rising concern about prediction-style merchandise that blur regulatory traces. Most provisions would take impact July 1, 2027.

Featured picture: Liam Enea through WikiCommons / CC BY-SA 2.0

The put up Lamont bill targets prediction markets after Connecticut sports wagering enforcement actions appeared first on ReadWrite.

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