Smarkets Pursues 2-Track US Entry With CFTC Filing and 3 State Sportsbook Bids

1 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 15

$60 billion-volume Smarkets is entering the U.S. through two routes: a CFTC license application filed in March and sportsbook applications in Illinois, Iowa and Michigan.
Jason Trost said the hedge reflects unresolved jurisdiction over sports-event contracts, with Smarkets preferring a federally regulated prediction-market exchange if CFTC preemption holds.
Illinois and Michigan are central tests because their regulators have treated prediction markets as unlicensed sports betting, while Smarkets already operates a sportsbook in Indiana.
The strategy lands in a widening federal-state fight: the CFTC has sued states over regulation efforts, and 44 state attorneys general argued last month that it cannot be the sole regulator.
Smarkets is following a path already explored by DraftKings and FanDuel, but Trost said high state compliance and tax costs make federal approval the cleaner long-term route.