The American Collegiate Sports Association recently sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, criticizing the sports-related derivative contracts on prediction market platforms. Their core accusation is straightforward: these contracts are essentially sports betting, but they completely ignore the rules of the gambling industry—such as age verification, advertising review, and event integrity protection.

What’s even more concerning is that some platforms have even launched contracts targeting individual athletes. This creates hidden dangers—potentially leading to coercion and harassment of athletes. Imagine if someone harasses a player for contractual gains; the consequences could be disastrous.

According to industry data, trading volume for sports-related contracts on leading prediction market platforms like Polymarket has become quite substantial. No wonder regulators and sports organizations are taking this seriously—when the market size is large enough, risk control measures must keep pace. This tug-of-war between regulation and innovation is something prediction market platforms need to seriously consider.