Fight the power
Polymarket sues Michigan regulators over enforcement threat
Prediction market platform reacts after AG Nessel sues Kalshi.
In +More: Mississippi bills stall, UK horseracing in crisis.
Sportradar highlights AI’s role in the new FIFA integrity deal.
Swedish regulator warns Spribe over unlicensed operator links.
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Fight fire with fire
Do unto others as they’ve done to you: The escalating conflict between prediction markets and US states ratcheted up another notch on Wednesday as Polymarket sued Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) leadership in federal court.
Polymarket said it faces an “imminent and concrete” threat of enforcement after Nessel sued Kalshi in state court over sports event contracts and argued the state cannot apply its gambling laws to the platform’s event contracts.
But what in the hell is this world coming to? Lodged in the Western District of Michigan against multiple officials, the suit seeks declaratory relief and an injunction to block Michigan from pursuing civil or criminal action against its products.
“This action demonstrates the defendant’s willingness to use state law to shut down federally authorized markets despite clear federal preemption,” Polymarket said in its suit.
“The resulting harm would be irreparable,” the platform added. “The chilling effect on lawful activity and the deprivation of Michigan residents’ access to a federally regulated exchange is precisely the harm Congress sought to prevent.”
Michigan has not issued cease-and-desist letters to Polymarket or Kalshi, though the MGCB has signaled it is investigating unlicensed sports prediction markets.
We didn’t start the fire: Two days prior, Nessel sued Kalshi in state court alleging the platform is running “unlicensed gambling under the guise of trading event contracts” to Michigan residents without MGCB licensing approval.
That filing cites specific examples, including markets tied to the NBA, college basketball, golf and hockey, and argues returns are determined “entirely by an outcome outside [bettors’] control.”
Michigan is not treating the case as a surprise product launch. The MGCB opened an investigation last April and later raised concerns to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in an October letter about sports prediction markets.
Copy of a copy of a copy: The same federal preemption argument used by Polymarket is propelling most of the sector’s litigation strategy; in that it claims prediction markets are derivatives traded on a designated contract market under the Commodity Exchange Act, placing them within the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction.
State enforcement would unlawfully fragment a national market and chill trading activity Congress intended to regulate federally, it argues.
Polymarket cites the CFTC’s recent posture as supportive of federal primacy, including the agency stepping into related litigation and signaling clearer standards are coming.
In Massachusetts, Polymarket sued Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell after a judge refused to pause an injunction that curtailed Kalshi’s sports markets, arguing the state’s action against Kalshi created an immediate threat to Polymarket’s own operations.
In Nevada, Polymarket is staring at direct enforcement, with a judge granting the Nevada Gaming Control Board a temporary restraining order barring the platform from offering sports contracts while litigation continues.
Kalshi last week also sued Utah, attempting to kneecap what it said was an incoming attempt by the state to bring an anti-gambling enforcement case against event contracts.
Drop the bomb: At the same time, publicity shy Polymarket has pulled a set of markets allowing users to trade on whether a nuclear weapon would be detonated by various dates, following public backlash.
A “Nuclear weapon detonation by…?” page that offered yes or no outcomes for deadlines including March 31 and June 30 is now marked as archived.
Critics argued such contracts create incentives around catastrophic outcomes, especially as the industry faces separate scrutiny over suspiciously timed trading in conflict-linked markets.
Industry watchers said the market monetized a nuclear attack scenario, while Sen. Chris Murphy said he plans to introduce legislation to ban betting on war and military strikes.
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+More
Mississippi: Several gambling bills have stalled in the Mississippi legislature after failing to meet the deadline to advance from the opposite chamber. Measures to legalize online sports betting – HB 1581 and HB 4074 – are now effectively dead for the session. HB 1581 had passed the House but was not reported out of a Senate committee before the March 3 cutoff. Both proposals envisioned partnerships between land-based casinos and online operators. Meanwhile, SB 2104, which sought to ban online sweepstakes casinos, also failed to progress in the House.
Louisiana: Lawmakers will review several gambling-related proposals when the state’s 2026 legislative session opens on March 9, including potential restrictions on sports-betting proposition bets, a ban on online sweepstakes casinos and legislation to authorize iLottery products. The measures have been pre-filed for debate in Baton Rouge and reflect growing scrutiny of emerging gambling formats and integrity concerns in sports-betting markets.
South Dakota: A proposal to legalize OSB has stalled after the House Committee on State Affairs rejected constitutional amendment SJR 504. The measure had passed the Senate last month and would have allowed online operators to partner with land-based casinos in Deadwood to offer statewide digital wagering.
UK horseracing in crisis: Lord Charles Allen has resigned as chair of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) after just six months in the role, amid an escalating governance dispute within the sport. Allen stepped down after industry stakeholders failed to agree on reforms to establish a fully independent BHA board and expand its commercial remit. The stalemate between racecourses and other racing groups over governance and raceday data rights prevented the required rule changes, prompting Allen’s departure and deepening uncertainty over the future leadership and structure of British racing.
The International Gaming Standards Association has elected Nimish Purohit of Aristocrat as chair, Charmaine Hogan of Playtech as vice-chair and Spencer Peterson of Konami Gaming as treasurer. Donovan Meyer of Light & Wonder, Syed Hussain of the Oregon Lottery and Rich Rader of Umpqua Indian Development Corporation were also appointed to the association’s board.
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Sportradar/FIFA integrity
A good match: Sportradar used its Q4 earnings call to highlight the role of AI in its newly renewed integrity services agreement with FIFA, positioning the partnership as a showcase for the company’s expanding AI-driven monitoring capabilities.
The deal, announced earlier this week, extends Sportradar’s integrity partnership with FIFA for another five years through 2031.
It expands the scope of services provided to soccer’s governing body and its 211 member associations.
The agreement includes AI-driven bet-monitoring, intelligence support and risk-assessment services covering international competitions and domestic matches globally.
Sweeper-keeper: During the earnings call this week, CEO Carsten Koerl pointed to the FIFA agreement as evidence of Sportradar’s growing expertise in integrity monitoring and data analysis.
“You saw also lately our FIFA announcement that we cover now all the federations and confederations there,” Koerl said.
He added that the company had built a strong track record through its integrity division.
Crucially, Koerl stressed that the integrity platform underpinning the FIFA deal is heavily AI-driven.
“We are very proud of what we established with the integrity service. And all of this is AI-based,” he said.
He noted that Sportradar has accumulated “more than 15 years” of expertise analysing suspicious betting activity across sports markets.
Counter-attack: The renewed agreement builds on the company’s Universal Fraud Detection System, an AI-powered monitoring platform that has analyzed more than 600,000 matches globally for FIFA since the partnership began in 2017.
The expanded scope of the deal reflects the increasing complexity of the global betting ecosystem.
Sportradar is tasked with identifying and assessing integrity risks across a wider range of competitions and jurisdictions.
Koerl suggested these capabilities will become increasingly important as new wagering formats emerge, particularly prediction markets and other real-time trading models.
“In a very complex environment here… we are happy to contribute with our knowledge to make the sports safer,” he said.
He linked Sportradar’s AI-driven monitoring capabilities directly to broader efforts to safeguard sports integrity.
The FIFA agreement also aligns with Sportradar’s wider push into AI-driven sports analytics and predictive modelling.
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Spribe warning
Here you go, way too fast: The Swedish Gambling Authority has issued a formal warning to casino game supplier Spribe after finding that the company’s software was available on websites operated by unlicensed gambling operators targeting Sweden.
Don’t slow down, you’re gonna crash: In a decision published late last month, Spelinspektionen said the Estonia-based developer had breached Swedish gambling law by providing game software to operators that lacked the necessary license to offer gambling services in the country.
The regulator also imposed an administrative penalty of SEK5,000 ($550).
You should watch, watch your step: The case relates to an inspection carried out in November last year when the regulator reviewed several websites operated by companies that are prohibited from offering gambling services in Sweden.
During that review, the authority identified Spribe as the supplier of game software to several of the platforms.
Under Swedish rules introduced to strengthen channelization, companies holding a license to develop and supply gambling software are prohibited from providing products to operators without a Swedish license.
The restriction applies not only to direct relationships but also to indirect distribution through intermediaries, such as aggregators.
Don’t look out, gonna break your neck: Spribe, which received its Swedish software license in July 2023, responded to the regulator in December. The company said it had taken corrective action and no longer supplied software to the operators in question.
According to the company, some of the websites had already implemented geoblocking to prevent access from Swedish IP addresses, while others had allowed access from Sweden.
After the issue was identified, Spribe said it immediately ensured its games were removed from the relevant sites.
So shut, shut your mouth, ’cause I’m not listening anyhow: The supplier also argued that its games are distributed through a network of aggregators contractually required to provide content only to licensed operators.
If its games appeared on unlicensed platforms, the company suggested this could have resulted from breaches within the distribution chain or unauthorized use of its intellectual property.
Despite these explanations, Spelinspektionen concluded that responsibility ultimately rests with the license holder.
The authority determined that Spribe had breached the rules but considered mitigating factors, including the company’s cooperation and rapid corrective action.
Instead of revoking the license, the regulator opted to issue a warning and a relatively small financial penalty.
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