I’ve spent my career in the Kansas Legislature working to make sure our state remains a place where businesses can grow, consumers are protected and government stays in its lane.

But free markets only work when everyone competes under the same rules.

Since Kansas legalized sports betting three years ago, lawmakers built a regulatory system that works for the state. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission (KRGC) and Kansas Lottery have managed a robust, transparent framework that has protected players and directed millions in sports betting taxes into our public services, supporting everything from education to public safety.

Kansas state Rep. Bill Sutton

Unfortunately, federal government intervention now threatens to upend this well-organized and efficient system.

Several “prediction market” platforms have sidestepped Kansas’ regulatory mechanisms entirely by offering sports bets to users as “event contracts.” They claim their platforms are for “commodities trading,” meaning they don’t need to adhere to the system Kansas set up. At the same time, they are shamelessly advertising that they offer sports betting across the country, “in all 50 states.” 

This is nothing less than exploitation — of Kansans, of our state’s legal system and of businesses that play by the rules.

These prediction market platforms want to profit off Kansas consumers while avoiding Kansas regulators. They claim they have federal approval through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is an agency created to oversee wheat, oil, and commodities contracts — not to legalize sports gambling nationwide. This is federal overreach by Washington, plain and simple. 

Kansans didn’t vote for that. The Legislature didn’t authorize that three years ago. And as a state representative, I am not going to let unelected bureaucrats foist a backdoor sports betting system onto our state.

We’ve seen this playbook before: rebrand the product, lobby Washington and hope states don’t notice until it’s too late. But Kansans noticed. If a platform allows people to wager on sports outcomes with real money, it should have to follow the exact same rules as every licensed operator in the state. 

Anything less undermines the rule of law and stacks the deck against the taxpaying businesses that follow it.

Then there is the issue of fairness. Licensed Kansas operators fund responsible gaming programs. They hire local workers. They invest in our communities. They pay millions in state taxes. Unregulated prediction markets do none of that. They want Kansas customers without contributing a dime back to our schools, infrastructure or local law enforcement. It’s not “tech innovation” by any means — it’s freeloading.

If you want to do business in Kansas, you need to follow Kansas rules, not carve-outs created by bureaucrats 1,200 miles away. Republican states across the country are pushing back on federal agencies trying to stretch their authority beyond congressional authorization. Kansas should stand proudly with them. 

Kansas built a legal sports betting system the right way — through debate, oversight and procedure. We decide what is legal here, not Wall Street investors or regulators in Washington who have never stepped foot in our state or its communities. 

The message needs to be clear: If you want to take bets in Kansas, you play by Kansas rules.