NCPG Logs 319 Utah Calls in Record Month as Prediction Markets Spread Nationwide
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 21
NCPG Logs 319 Utah Calls in Record Month as Prediction Markets Spread Nationwide
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 21
Summary
Utah generated 319 calls to the National Council on Problem Gambling helpline in May 2025, the state's highest monthly total since 2017, despite having no legal gambling market and no dedicated state or federal treatment funding.
Nearly 18,000 Utah calls have reached the donation-funded helpline since 2016 as advocates link rising distress to the broader boom in online betting and prediction markets now operating even in gambling-restricted states.
Prediction market firms such as Kalshi and Polymarket say they are federally regulated event-derivatives platforms, not gambling operators, a stance that has let them expand nationally while more than a dozen state lawsuits challenge that interpretation.
Trump backed exclusive CFTC oversight last month, while addiction specialists say public-health support is far behind the industry's growth and many harmed users never seek help.
The NCPG is backing the Points Act, introduced in March, to create the first dedicated federal funding stream for gambling-addiction prevention and treatment.
With states and federal regulators clashing, will prediction markets be the next Wall Street or an illegal gambling enterprise?
As courts redefine betting as finance, are we prepared for the surge in addiction and its massive social costs?
Utah vs. Prediction Markets: Legal Showdown, Federal Disputes, and the $78.7 Billion Online Gambling Surge
Overview
Utah enforces some of the strictest anti-gambling laws in the country, with Governor Spencer Cox openly opposing all forms of gambling. The rise of online prediction markets has sparked a major legal battle, as Utah sees these platforms as illegal gambling, while the CFTC claims federal authority by classifying them as event contracts. This clash has led to aggressive state enforcement and new legislation targeting proposition betting, even as prediction market operators argue they are regulated financial exchanges. The ongoing dispute highlights the challenges Utah faces in controlling online gambling amid conflicting state and federal interpretations.