Lawmakers Rush Sweeps, Prediction Bills as NBA Spurs Bets

State lawmakers in Iowa and Tennessee are racing this month to pass bills that would limit sweepstakes-style online casinos and restrict prediction-market participation by public employees as legislative sessions near adjournment and NBA playoff activity lifts betting volumes.

In Iowa, the legislature must act before adjournment on April 21. Senate-passed SF 2289, which would strengthen enforcement tools and could be used against sweepstakes-style online casinos, has moved from the Appropriations Committee to the House Ways and Means Committee but has not been scheduled for a hearing. A separate Senate measure, SF 2494, would bar state employees from buying or selling government or legislative prediction markets; it still needs final Senate approval and passage in the House before the April 21 deadline. A different prediction-market bill that had cleared the Senate was tabled by a House committee last week.

Tennessee lawmakers face an April 24 adjournment deadline. HB 1885, which would ban online sweepstakes games that use virtual currency, reached the House floor after committee passage and was set for a hearing on April 16 but was not taken up. Lawmakers filed amendments to align that bill with SB 2139, which the Senate approved in early March. HB 2079, aimed at restricting prediction markets, awaited a House floor vote scheduled for April 20; if it passes the House the measure would need rapid Senate action to become law before the session ends.

Other states have related measures that could advance this week. In Louisiana, HB 883 would explicitly ban sweepstakes casino platforms and awaits Senate consideration after passing the House. HB 53 would apply racketeering statutes to illegal gambling operations and has moved out of a Senate committee. Oklahoma’s SB 1589, which would expand the state gambling statute to include online casino-style offerings and dual-currency systems, cleared the Senate and two House committees and is likely to reach the full House. In Minnesota, SF 4511, aimed at certain prediction markets, and SF 4474, targeting sweepstakes casinos, advanced from earlier committees and are scheduled for the Senate Finance Committee on April 24; companion House bills HB 4437 and HB 4410 have also progressed through multiple panels.

The NBA playoffs have increased consumer betting and driven higher activity on prediction platforms. Kalshi’s market on the NBA champion has generated more than $84 million in trading volume and its season MVP market over $33 million. At the time of reporting, both FanDuel and Kalshi listed the Oklahoma City Thunder as the favorite to win the title and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the leading candidate for Finals MVP. A $100 wager on the Thunder at -120 on FanDuel would yield about $83 in profit; a comparable $100 position on Kalshi returned roughly $100 under the exchange’s pricing at that time. For Gilgeous-Alexander to win Finals MVP, a $100 bet on FanDuel would produce about $91 profit, while a similar position on Kalshi would yield $100. Prices and probabilities on both platforms change in real time as trading and betting continue.

Prediction markets are the subject of legal disputes over whether event contracts fall under federal derivatives law or state gambling statutes. Kalshi has filed lawsuits in response to state enforcement actions, including a complaint against Montana and preemptive suits in Iowa and Utah. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has taken action in Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois. A federal judge in Arizona issued a temporary restraining order requested by the CFTC that pauses enforcement in that case through April 24.

On the corporate side, Bally’s Corporation submitted a £225 million, or about $304 million, proposal to acquire Evoke plc, the owner of the William Hill and 888 brands. Evoke confirmed receipt of the approach on April 20. Bally’s has until May 18 to make a firm offer or withdraw the approach.