Blumenthal, Tonko Renew Federal Gambling Reform Push

Jonathan Rodriguez

Written by: Jonathan Rodriguez

Published: Mon Sep 28, 2026, 8:00 am ET

Read Time: 4 minutes

Blumenthal, Tonko Renew Federal Gambling Reform Push

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Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Paul Tonko are renewing their push for federal gambling reform as prediction markets expand across the US.

The lawmakers are now explicitly bringing prediction markets into a broader debate over sports betting and consumer protection. They joined the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) and Families and Friends of Gamblers (FFOG) for a September 23 event in Washington, D.C.

The groups launched "Truth and Integrity: The Movement for Gambling Reform" during the event. The initiative calls for congressional hearings, federal safety standards, and stronger state enforcement.

Blumenthal and Tonko are also supporting two major pieces of legislation. The SAFE Bet Act would establish federal standards for state-licensed sportsbooks. Meanwhile, Blumenthal's Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act targets online prediction markets.

SAFE Bet Act Targets Sports Betting

The SAFE Bet Act, or Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act, focuses on several areas.

The legislation would establish federal standards covering marketing, affordability, and artificial intelligence. It would also address deposit limits, affordability checks, and credit card deposits.

The proposal would further restrict certain sportsbook advertising practices. It would also prohibit college and amateur athlete prop bets and create a national self-exclusion list.

Tonko remains Blumenthal's primary congressional partner on the SAFE Bet Act. Their efforts focus on establishing federal standards for the expanding sports-betting industry.

That approach would create federal requirements for states offering sports betting. As a result, the measure could affect operators serving customers through US online sportsbooks.

Tonko has framed the issue around the growing visibility of betting throughout American sports.

"In this new landscape, sports betting is everywhere, woven into the fabric of sports and entertainment," Tonko said. "Parents should be able to take children to a game without seeing ads."

He also compared the current sportsbook environment with historical tobacco marketing.

"It is impossible to ignore the similarities of sportsbooks today and big tobacco decades earlier," Tonko said.

Prediction Markets Enter the Debate

The Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act takes the reform effort into a separate regulatory area.

Blumenthal introduced the proposal with Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) as its co-sponsor. The prediction-market proposal would establish safeguards against fraud, manipulation, insider trading, and underage participation. It would also require prediction markets to verify users' ages and locations.

Additionally, the bill would restrict certain contracts involving war, death, and events vulnerable to manipulation.

A major provision would also change who oversees these markets. The bill explicitly shifts oversight back to individual state gaming authorities by removing the Commodity Exchange Act's preemption framework.

That provision would challenge the current federal-state regulatory structure surrounding prediction markets. Operators generally argue that their event contracts qualify as financial products under federal commodities law.

Blumenthal's proposal would instead give individual states greater authority over prediction markets. That change could bring sports-related event contracts under state gambling frameworks in jurisdictions that regulate them as gambling.

Blumenthal has directly linked prediction markets with his concerns about gambling harm.

"Prediction markets are exploiting problem gambling, they are relentlessly and tirelessly taking advantage of vulnerability to simply make more money," Blumenthal said.

"We need to raise people's awareness. It's almost like the gambling industry is exploiting people invisibly but in plain sight."

Federal and State Authority at Issue

The jurisdictional question extends beyond traditional USA gambling rules. It now includes whether prediction markets should remain under federal commodities oversight.

Prediction-market operators have generally maintained that their event contracts are financial products. They therefore argue that federal law gives the CFTC primary regulatory authority.

Blumenthal's proposal takes a different approach. Removing the Commodity Exchange Act's preemption framework would return oversight to individual state gaming authorities.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has opposed broader federal intervention. It argues that state regulators already operate established consumer-protection and responsible-gaming programs.

Prediction-market companies have also opposed Blumenthal's proposal. They maintain that their products belong within the federal financial-market framework.

The renewed campaign therefore places traditional sports betting and prediction markets within the same federal reform discussion. However, neither proposal has become federal law.

The next steps will depend on congressional action and whether lawmakers advance either measure through the legislative process.

Jonathan Rodriguez
Jonathan Rodriguez

Jonathan is an avid basketball fan, and is often looking forward to the next upcoming NBA season when not checking players' stats during games. He also likes to keep his ears on the ground for the latest rumblings in the online casino industry.

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