Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed the nation’s first law banning prediction market sites from operating in the state, the most far-reaching crackdown on massively popular services like Kalshi and Polymarket.
It comes as states confront a growing standoff with the Trump administration over how to regulate the industry, which allows people to bet on virtually anything.
The new state law makes it a crime to host or advertise a prediction market, which it defines as a system that lets consumers place a wager on a future outcome, like sports, elections, weather, live entertainment, someone’s word choice and world affairs.
The prohibition extends to services supporting prediction markets, like virtual private networks, that could allow consumers to disguise their location and get around the ban.
It would force prediction market sites like Kalshi and Polymarket to leave the state, or face possible felony charges. The law takes effect in August.
Seems to be the intention.
They should go further and ban people from leaving the state, since that could also be used to circumvent the ban.
Prior to New Jersey amending their state constitution to allow online sports betting in 2011, and mostly leading to the opening of online gambling we’re experiencing now, enforcement was usually taken against the “casinos” rather than the handlers. Back then it was CEOs of the betting companies getting caught on their flight layovers and charged with the illegal gambling stuff.
Doubt the intention is to enforce against the gamblers for the reasons already implied here, like the difficulty of tracking and enforcing vpn monitoring.
These people have bank accounts. What not just pass a law saying banks can’t take payments from these sites instead of banning VPNs?
Because banks have a better lobby and pay better.
But what about the banks profits??
If they are all following the same law they would not be affected since nobody would have a competitive advantage.
Luckily due to the United States Constitution, the states can’t tell you where you can and cannot go. Obviously with the police they can do whatever the fuck they want but officially we can go over we want.
I mean you could make the argument that the commerce clause tells the state they can’t ban VPNs. Ultimately it will be up to the SC to dictate the laws as they have been lately.
You know what, you’re right one could make the argument that states don’t even have the authority to ban vpns.
They can totally ban VPNs in the state. They can’t ban VPNs out of the state.
It’s kind of seems like that would be a state regulating interstate commerce. And international Commerce which is exclusively the Federal prerogative.
If they tried to ban a VPN outside of the state I would agree with you. Also, the way the law is written you have to know that is what the service is being used for to be criminally liable.
I will admit this could cause a chilling situation where VPNs voluntarily block these sites when a user can be determined to be from this state. I think that is their intention though.
So do they have a business exception or are they just saying fuck everyone including businesses? Which would be surprising.
All businesses are felons now.