Though stakeholders say the hopes of legalizing sports betting anywhere that doesn’t currently have it are limited in 2026, that didn’t keep lawmakers from filing myriad bills on the issue — and a tangential one — this week. Of particular interest is a bill filed in New York that seeks to regulate rather than ban prediction markets. While regulators across the country continue to send cease-and-desist letters to prediction markets platforms including Crypto.com, Kalshi, and Robinhood, the platforms have responded by suing states for injunctions, clarification of applicable federal and/or state law, and the right to continue operating. Late last week, Tennessee joined the list of states being sued by Kalshi after the Sports Wagering Council sent the platform a cease-and-desist letter.
Whether or how other state legislatures will address prediction markets, many of which offer sports event contracts and are regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission, remains to be seen.
When it comes to traditional sports betting, bills to legalize or expand digital sports betting were filed or assigned to committee in Georgia, Mississippi, and Wisconsin this week. Proposals that would change laws in existing legal digital betting states New Jersey and Virginia were also filed.
Here’s a look at this week’s bills
No promises this is a complete look with the number and speed at which bills are being discussion and introduced, but here are some highlights:
Georgia: HB 910, which did not get a committee hearing in 2025, carried over to this session and Monday was assigned to the House Higher Education Committee, though no hearing has been scheduled. The bill would allow for statewide digital sports betting with the lottery in charge. The lottery and qualified professional sports teams would be eligible for licenses.
Mississippi: Rep. Jay McKnight Monday introduced HB 519, which would allow for statewide mobile betting. It is at least the third time that Mississippi lawmakers have tried for an expansion since in-person (and on-site mobile) betting went live in August 2018. The bill was assigned to the House Gaming Committee, but no hearing has been scheduled. Wednesday, SB 2249, which would legalize digital sports betting and horse racing, and would not require that platforms be tethered to existing casinos. A similar bill, HB 297, was introduced in the House Jan. 8.
In 2025, lawmakers failed to a get bill that would have allowed each retail casino to have two digital partners, or skins, across the finish line. In the 2026, HB 519 offers some tweaks — existing casinos would each get one skin, and online sports betting revenue would be taxed on the same sliding scale that in-person wagering is currently taxed, which is between 4%-8% of gross gaming revenue depending on revenue, plus a 4% local tax. The legislature runs through April 5, and the crossover deadline for bills to go from one chamber to the other is Feb. 13. Last year, the House passed a bill, but it did not get a vote in the Senate.
New Jersey: S2160, which would ban prop bets, was assigned to the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee Tuesday after being carried over from 2025. The bill number is new — it originated as S4794 in 2025. It appears that the bill will be the single vehicle that lawmakers use to advance the proposal, as sister bill A5971 is listed as “carry over to future S2160.
New York: S8889 would create a state framework that would require prediction markets, which are currently federally regulated, to be licensed by state Dept. of Financial Services. Some prediction markets offer sports event contracts, which are considered derivatives and are regulated as financial tools, but since Kalshi began offering sports event contracts last January, regulators have pushed back, saying they mimic sports betting and should be beholden to state gaming laws or banned.
The New York bill, filed Tuesday and referred to the Senate Banks Committee, defines prediction markets as “any platform, electronic or physical, that allows participants to place wagers, trades, or financial positions on the outcome of future events, including but not limited to political, economic, weather, or other contingencies, where payouts are tied to event outcomes.” Sports event contracts are not expressly addressed in the bill.
Prediction markets would have to be licensed by the state, and would be required to have anti-money laundering protocols, consumer protections, and integrity and risk management programs. The bill is two pages and does not go into detail about license fees or process and does not indicate how or if prediction market contracts would be taxed.
The backdrop for all of this is that in the various legal matters pending in state and federal courts, bubbling up to circuit courts, the prediction market platforms insist that the derivatives market, inclusive of sports event contracts, rests within the exclusive purview of the federal government and Commodity Futures Trade Commission via the Commodity Exchange Act. In other words, the position is that the states have no say and the platforms are not bound to any licensing directives or otherwise that apply to state-licensed operators.
Virginia: State lawmakers filed a bill Tuesday that would ban funding accounts by credit card, and HB 515 is awaiting a committee assignment. The two-page bill strikes the words “credit card” from Section § 58.1-4034(7) of the current wagering law.
Wisconsin: There’s been plenty of talk in the media over the last week about SB 592 moving forward, but to date, the bill, which would give the state’s 11 gaming tribes exclusivity for digital sports betting, does not yet have a hearing date. The bill carried over from 2025 after the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) testified in opposition in November, and tribal leaders said the vote would be moved to January.
SB 592 would alter the definition of the word “bet” in the state to allow sports betting, and would allow the tribes to offer statewide digital wagering via a hub-and-spoke model. The SBA is comprised of bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, and FanDuel, spoke in heavy opposition to the proposal in early November.
Per the Center Square Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Majority Leader Tyler August say they expect a vote on the proposal during this session, which runs through March 19.
