Kalshi and Polymarket are skirting laws on sports betting, states say

Online prediction markets allow users to put money on the outcome of almost anything — this weekend’s NBA game, the next supreme leader of Iran, whether the government will confirm the existence of aliens. But those markets have no state oversight and operate even in states that ban gambling. The platforms are raising bipartisan alarms, especially related to sports gambling. As states have legalized sports betting in recent years, they’ve required legal sportsbooks to jump through multiple hoops — from age verification procedures to protections for gambling addiction to tax collections. Online prediction markets circumvent all those rules. Platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket say they...