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Crypto.com will stop offering sports event contracts to Nevada residents starting November 3 after the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) ruled that such products qualify as wagering under state law.
Good to Know
The decision comes after Judge Andrew P. Gordon denied Crypto.com’s request for a preliminary injunction on October 14. The company had sought to block state regulators from enforcing restrictions against its operations. While Crypto.com plans to appeal, it must suspend Nevada-based activity in the meantime.
In a notice issued by NGCB Chair Brittnie Dreitzer, the Board stated that Crypto.com “will no longer hold open positions in sports event contracts for Nevada residents and will not permit new contracts to be opened.”
Dreitzer emphasized the Board’s duty to safeguard the public and uphold fair competition. She said:
“The Board has been working diligently to uphold its charge to protect the safety, morals, good order, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the state, to foster the stability and success of gaming, and to preserve the competitive economy and policies of free competition of the state of Nevada.”
She also reaffirmed that sports and event contracts, even if traded through federally regulated exchanges such as those overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), qualify as wagering in Nevada, adding:
“Wagering occurs whether the contract is listed on an exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or elsewhere.”
According to the NGCB’s interpretation, sports event contracts include wagers on the outcomes or partial outcomes of sporting and non-sporting events — from athletic competitions and esports to political elections and entertainment awards such as the Oscars.
Only operators with a nonrestricted gaming license and approved sportsbook systems may offer such markets in the state. Dreitzer warned that companies conducting these activities without meeting state requirements could jeopardize their licensing status. Dreitzer said:
“If a Nevada licensee chooses to offer sports and other event contracts in Nevada or decides to partner with other entities offering sports and other event contracts in the state, the Board will consider these developments as it evaluates the suitability of the entity to maintain a Nevada gaming license.”
Crypto.com’s Nevada operations are part of a larger legal standoff between prediction market platforms and state regulators across the U.S. Firms like Crypto.com and Kalshi have argued that their activities fall under CFTC oversight, not state gaming laws.
Nevada, however, maintains that such event-based contracts meet the definition of gambling. The Board has also warned that licensees engaging in similar activity elsewhere without compliance could face disciplinary action under Nevada’s Gaming Control Act.
Crypto.com, which has partnered with firms like Underdog to expand event-based trading in the U.S., continues to assert that its products comply with federal law through the Commodity Exchange Act. The company’s future in Nevada now hinges on the outcome of its appeal.
Because the NGCB determined that its sports event contracts qualify as wagering under state law, and a court denied its injunction to continue operations.
Only those with a nonrestricted gaming license and sports pool approval are authorized to offer such contracts.
Any contract based on the outcome or partial outcome of a sports, entertainment, or political event is considered wagering under Nevada statutes.
No. Several states, including Ohio and New York, are also reviewing similar event-based trading models and their compliance with gambling laws.